Origins of Power-Gods and Devils
by Randolf 444
Summary: After the second Titan War, Percy Jackson thought he would finally have a peaceful summer. Never did he think that a dream would foretell him otherwise. As surprising events unfold one after another, Percy discovers that the world is much more complicated. Making new friends, family and enemies, will he survive the chaos in the universe...or multiverse? Set after The Last Olympian.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This fanfic is going to be a crossover between Percy Jackson and The Olympians and the manga/anime One Piece. I absolutely adore both, so I decided to write this. However, this story is going to be a PJaTO-centric, and the One Piece part won't come until a bit later. I strongly suggest you read the series AND watch the anime to be able to understand everything. But don't worry if you can't, just enjoy the story. Oh, and since I think this type of crossover hasn't existed yet (as far as I can see), I don't know how many people will be reading this. Maybe it will sit at some dark, dreary, dusty desolate corner in this website. So, if you do, kindly leave a review because this is my first fanfic as well and I want to improve my writing. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or One Piece.**

Chapter 1

Percy's POV

"…and so, to convert the index form into its logarithm form, you have to…" I tuned out of her yapping, again. I groaned, it was the last day of school before summer, where I would be able to go to camp and meet all my friends again. I missed all of them, especially my loving girlfriend, Annabeth. But now, I'm still stuck at Maths with the most dedicated teacher in Goode High School.

And of course, she didn't like wasting her time, even if this was the last class before dismissal.

"…few laws of logarithm which you have to follow at all times and…" I glanced at the clock which was hung at the corner of the classroom.

Two more minutes.

I groaned again, louder than I meant it to be. Ms Shane suddenly whipped her head in my direction. Uh oh, time to act cool.

"Is there a problem, Mr Jackson?" The class snickered but I regained my composure.

"No, Ms Shane, please continue." I faked my best serious looking face. The class snickered again. She gave me the evil eye before turning back to the class. I swear all my Maths teachers do that to me. Starting from Mrs Dodds, the Fury-in-disguise,

"Okay, if there are no questions, then…" Shit, here comes the "homework-giving" speech. And I was _not_ going to blow any precious summer time solving log questions.

Just then, the dismissal bell rang. Without skipping a beat, all the students raced out of the classroom, with me in the lead. I could faintly hear Ms Shane shouting something about "wait" and "homework". I grinned. _Not today, Ms Shane._

After dashing through the corridors and out of the school gates, I slowed down my pace and took in my surroundings as I whistled light-heartedly. The streets of New York City were busy as usual. Cars streamed in from all directions, spewing smoke from the exhaust. I wonder what Grover was going to say about that. Something not meant for children's ears, I'm sure.

I was in a jovial mood, I guess summer holidays does that to everyone. And thinking about Annabeth helped too. I walked up to the front door of my apartment with a broad smile. The summer holidays have started, I'm going to camp tomorrow and best of all, I get to meet my friends again. I opened the door and you could say that I was surprised when I was greeted by two loud "pops" and a spray of confetti in my face.

"Congratulations!" My mum and stepdad greeted me with a smile bigger than mine before.

"Huh, what?" Some people say I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, Annabeth called me a Seaweed Brain, but some things are just too weird for me to comprehend.

"For surviving another year at Goode without getting expelled! An amazing feat for someone like you, you know?" Paul chuckled. I decided to take it as a compliment.

"Uh, thanks I guess." True. Monster attacks have dwindled down considerably since Kronos' defeat. Any cyclops or hellhounds were dispatched quickly before anyone noticed. Plus, I tried my best this year. Although my grades were still lingering at the average mark, Paul said that it was at least an improvement compared to last time. And I didn't even blow up a single gym locker, not one.

"Well, I guess we better not stop Percy from packing for camp then. You can't wait to see Annabeth again, right dear?" The last question was directed at me, and I blushed a little.

"Yeah, and Grover, the Stoll brothers and maybe Thalia and Nico too if I'm lucky." My sorry attempt went west when my mum said with a smile: "Mm hmm, and are you going to take Annabeth on a date this summer?" I blushed harder at that. After giving them both a quick hug, I speedwalked to my room while rubbing my neck. Chuckles could be heard in the living room.

A familiar view greeted me as I opened my room's door. At the corner of the room was my messily made bed. A small desk stood a little ways of the bed and it was cluttered with books and paper. I threw my bag inside the desk and plopped myself on my bed. I could use a rest before packing, and emptying my mind off the few laws of logarithms.

I stared up at the ceiling and let my thoughts wander on its own accord. Another year had came and went since the battle in Manhattan. Another four seasons had slipped passed quickly, and now it was summer again. But this time, I _might_ actually have a peaceful time. Spending time with my Wise Girl, chasing her around the beach, grabbing her by her waist and spinning her around, with her princess blonde curls flowing around her. Then, I'd stop and whisper in her ear, telling her how much I love her. Staring at her beautiful face and gorgeous stormy gray eyes, we'd lean in closer and… I smiled to myself and fell into a peaceful sleep.

I was awoken by a knock at my door. My mum poked her head in.

"Ah, I see you've fallen asleep, Percy. And you haven't begun packing yet. It's dinnertime already and you better do so afterwards. Come on now. No, don't lie back down. Hurry up!"

I gave an unsightly yawn as I sat back up while rubbing the sleep off my eyes. I was soon revitalized when I set my eyes on the dining table.

Roast chicken and mashed potatoes, with my mum's special brown sauce. And cherry coke. Blue cherry coke, courtesy of some blue food colouring. Just like how she made it when I was little, because I loved the colour, even now.

I suddenly felt like a small kid again. The kid who would want his mum to tuck him in bed before he fell asleep every night. The kid who would be startled by the sound of thunderstorms and would run to his mum and hug her while she whispered words of comfort in his ear. Now, I'm almost seventeen, but sometimes, a small part of me still wanted to be that kid.

I surprised my mum by walking up to her and giving her a bear hug.

"What's that for, honey?" My mum said while smiling.

"Nothing, just that the food makes me feel like a toddler again." I replied.

"Well, to me, no matter how old you are, you'll always be my baby boy." She said while hugging me back tightly.

We separated after a while. Paul, who saw the whole thing, smiled at our little exchange. "Well Percy, you certainly don't want to let your mum's excellent cooking go cold, do you?"

"Hades, no!" I exclaimed and jumped into my chair while attacking my food with vigor. Mum and Paul just laughed at my antics.

After battling my food with a spoon, fork and knife, plus a few covered up burps, I finally sat back with a contented sigh.

"So, how was it?" My mum asked.

"Are you kidding, mum? It's absolutely delicious! Even after all these years, your cooking is still the best! Better than the camp's barbecue even." I said.

"Yeah, if I get to come home to a meal like this prepared by my wife every day, I'd feel like the luckiest man on Earth." Paul agreed.

"Uh uh" I said. "That would be me."

"Now, now, that's enough my two fine gentlemen." My mum laughed. "Percy, you will have to pack now if you want to leave early tomorrow."

I sighed. "Sure mum, I'll go now."

I entered my room and walked to my closet. I rummaged through my clothes until I found a couple of casual looking T-shirts and shorts, and let's not forget some clean underwear. I didn't have to pack a lot, since the nymphs do the laundry in camp.

After packing, I began to feel tired and yawned again, despite my sleep not too long ago. To make tomorrow come quicker, I decided to surrender to my fatigue and climbed into bed. Tomorrow, the fun would finally start.

Summer holidays, Camp Half Blood and Annabeth , here I come.


	2. Chapter 2

**Many thanks to the reviewers of this fanfic. It made me EXTREMELY happy. With 76 views, maybe it isn't as isolated as I thought although the review count was only 4. But hey I'm not complaining, I know some people want to see how his fanfic will turn out before saying anything ( I am one of those people). I would also like to thank ****Fuyutaro son for supporting my fanfic in his A/N in **_**his**_** PJOxOP fanfic. Yup, he also had the same idea to come up with the first crossover of this pair but I stole his first time. Yes, I meant it to sound like that. So, don't forget to click on his fanfic too, it's just above/below mine.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO, Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. I own this story plot. Simple.  
**

Chapter 2

I stood in the darkness, alone. Nothing seemed to be around, except for myself. The darkness seemed to stretch out forever, showing no signs of escape.

Swallowing my fear, I decided to walk around until I found an exit, if there was even one in a place like this. I couldn't see where I was moving, but luckily this place seemed empty of anything I might bump my head with or trip over. After wandering for what seemed like hours, I finally spotted a beam of light.

I shuffled closer quickly, seeing that I was about to go mad in this darkness. Apparently, it wasn't one, but two beams of light. If you have ever been to a magic performance, you would see two beams of spotlight illuminating the stage where the magician and his assistant stand. It was somewhat similar, but instead of the pulling-rabbits-out-of-hat entertainers, I found a sword and a hat.

The sword was three feet long, and its blade was a light hue of brown, indicating it was made of Celestial Bronze. A blood red ruby was set at the middle of the hilt, pulsating with faint traces of energy. The hat, on the other hand, looked innocent enough. It was yellow in colour and at the place where the bulge and the rim met, a red band was tied around it. On closer inspection, I noticed that it was skillfully weaved with straw. A strawhat.

The two objects puzzled me. What are they doing under the spotlights in here?… Wherever I am.

"Well, young hero-"

I jumped quickly, and with battle-hardened reflexes, uncapped Riptide from my pocket and twirled around, preparing to face off the speaker

Endless darkness greeted me. No one was there. The darkness wasn't helping the situation.

"Ah, Anaklusmos I see. Nice sword, and with a worthy wielder too. I imagine it has quelled many monsters under your possession."

"Cut the crap, who are you? Show yourself!" I said as calmly as possible. One thing I learned through experience was that to never show fear to your opponents. In doing so, you project a front exterior to prevent them from manipulating your emotions or gauge your true powers easily.

"Hmm, brave and foolish, as expected. You do know that speaking in that manner to other immortals could get you killed. But you are Perseus after all, no one has your guts." He (judging by the voice) gave a laugh.

"Does not exactly answer my question, whoever you are." I replied. I admitted my confident facade was starting to falter.

"I-" He gave a pause. "-am nameless." Before I could slap my forehead, he continued.

"But I am also the very embodiment of nothingness and everything. The very definition of space, time and all things infinite. The time-space theory you mortals try so hard to crack? Impossible, because they are part of me, endless and omnipresent. I, am the very concept, of EXISTENCE!" He emphasized the last word, no doubt for dramatic effect.

It was quiet for a few seconds before he spoke in an annoyed tone.

"Don't I get an applause or something? Was my speech not impressive enough?"

_This whoever he is must be a psycho. _"Well, O mighty overlordof time and space. I find you hard to believe. If your powers were so, why haven't you taken over the world already?" I questioned, somewhat sarcastically. That's the way my life goes, powerful immortal beings wanting to rule the world all the time like supervillains on television.

"Typical question, young one. But you see, I already rule everything, as I said, though none know of my existence."

"So, like Lady Chaos? Ruler of the universe? Parents of the primordials and my great-great grandfather and all that?" Blame Annabeth for my nerdiness right now. She made me study with her about our divine ancestry one day.

"Which part of 'none know of my existence' don't you understand? No, I'm not Chaos, she herself will even find it hard to meddle with… foreign elements. I'm not some puny ruler of the universe, I'm the ruler of EXISTENCE!"

_There he did it again… And did he just call Chaos a puny ruler of the universe? Universe and existence, what's the difference? _"What's more powerful than Chaos? What foreign elements can't Chaos meddle? Why should I believe you?" I bombarded him with question after question.

"Perseus, you still have a lot to learn, which I'm going to hint at later. As for your last question, I could just remove planet Earth where you reside currently. Humans, flora and fauna, 'poof' in an instant. But then you will cease to exist to see that I'm right, and I guess you don't want the loss of 3 billion human lives on Earth, right?"

The Overlord was right, so I kept quiet.

"You still find it hard to believe, but you will soon, whether you want it or not." Typical way of saying I'm screwed in the near future. "Enough said, I'm here for more important matters, it concerns what's behind you now."

I turned and found myself facing the sword and strawhat again.

"A sword and a hat, what's the big deal?" I asked, although I knew that a deity this powerful won't intrude my dreams for trivial matters.

"Those, are the objects that will impact you greatly, soon. One positively, the other negatively." The Overlord said.

Something told me that the sword fell under the "negative" category. At least the hat looked innocent, hopefully. Maybe I'll receive the cool-looking hat as a present and get stabbed to death by the sword on the same day. Who knows?

I voiced my opinion to him, and he laughed. "Maybe, who knows? Oh wait, I do." He laughed at his own joke. _Cool, he's got a sense of humour_.

Maybe he wasn't serious all the time, maybe he could laugh and have fun too. But who knew what the ruler of existence does for fun. Create galaxies and destroy them for amusement? I hope he didn't have his eyes on the Milky Way anytime soon.

I couldn't help but snicker quietly at his own joke, but almost immediately turned serious at the situation at hand. "Then can you tell me what's actually going to happen?" I asked hopefully.

"No." I sighed. "But-" I perked up again.

"-the hint I mentioned earlier? It comes in the form of what you silly mortals call a prophecy." _Another _prophecy?

I made sure my groan came out loud and whiny. "Come on, not another one! I'm sick of them. They always come in mysterious and twisted nursery rhymes!" I was too lazy to mention that I'm a _half_ mortal.

"Exactly, nothing can come directly to you. It is crucial that a prophecy will only be fulfilled when the time is right. Your three little Fates make sure of it." He reasoned.

Loud sigh. "Fine, anything."

The Overlord cleared its throat, no doubt for the effect again.

The lives of fallen shall rise and return,

Desire of one will leave another broken.

Space will shift and worlds will collide,

The Hunter will have to pick a side.

And find the one to mend the hole,

In the heart of a broken soul.

A long journey to ancient lands,

Together all join hand in hand.

Two families shall make the Hunter strive,

The third will unexpectedly arrive.

To storm or fire the world must fall,

But that would not be the end of all.

…

What does one say to a prophecy like that? Me?

"Huh, that's way longer than the old Great Prophecy." If he could raise an eyebrow, I bet he would.

"I mean, um, sounds bad to me, what with the storm and fire and…" I trailed off. Silence.

_Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh shit._

"'To storm or fire the world must fall' That… that line, Rachel spoke that line in the future Great Prophecy, if I'm not mistaken, and-"

"Correct."

"I mean FUTURE Great Prophecy."

"Correct."

"The Hades? You mean, it's going to happen soon? Like REAL soon?" I felt faint. I just completed the Great Prophecy last summer. I am _not_ in the mood for another war, or whatever chaos it ensues.

"Well, I'll tell you this. This whole prophecy is going to take a long time to complete. But the beginning… is beginning." Another lame joke.

"Oh hahaha, now is that all you could tell me?" I was starting to get a little impatient, not to mention a little panicked.

"You know, usually when beings face another who are stronger in power, they kneel and grovel at their feet. But you facing _me_, still speak like we're best buds." I think now he's trying to exert his dominant side.

"Maybe that's because you make more lame jokes than the average beings with immense power?" Was my smart comeback. Yeah, I had a death wish.

"True, Perseus. But know this, the path ahead of you will not be one for a leisure walk." He didn't seemed offended, unlike a God of Lightning would be by now.

"I am well aware of that." _Duh_.

"Alrighty then, I guess it's time for you to return to the physical and material plane of existence."

"You mean, wake up?"

"Yes." The Overlord sighed. "Please don't undermine my flair for dramatic words. Anyway, it was a pleasure talking to you. Remember Perseus, don't let me down."

"Wait!" I shouted frantically as my brain suddenly clicked. It was such a fundamental question I should have asked a long time ago. "What's the difference between Universe and Existence? How can someone be more powerful than Lady Chaos herself?"

"All in due time, Perseus, all in due time. By the way, I like that name, 'Overlord' has a catchy ring to it." _What the-, was it reading my mind all along?_

Those were the last words I heard before I felt my body float away from the darkness and towards the bright entrance that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. As the light engulfed me, I opened an eye. The ceiling was facing me. Bizarre dream. None has preceded this in terms of weirdness and nervousness. Not even before the Titan War when I was hounded by many grim ones.

But hey, guess who just scored himself in the good books of the Ruler of Existence?

**Review if you deem it worthy. Flames are accepted, but within reason. Encouragement? It boosts my will to write. Criticism? It helps correct common mistakes which can improve the quality of future chapters. Until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the slightly late update, everyone. I was actually in the midst of my final exam but had a one week break until this Wednesday. Gotta study too, you know? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO and One Piece. They belong to the great Rick Riordan and Eiichiro Oda respectively.**

* * *

Chapter 3

Little rays of sunlight flitted in through the narrow gaps of the shutters of the windows into my room. It was morning already.

I knew I should be excited for finally being able to head to camp today, but somehow something was bothering me.

The dream…

What did it mean? Some unbelievably powerful deity who claimed to rule everything, two objects which will change my life and a long rambling prophecy, like I didn't have enough of that. The details were getting blurry now, like it was hidden yet firmly embedded in my mind.

The unmistakable mouth-watering smell of waffles wafted into my nostrils snapped me out of my reverie.

"Honey, wake up now! It's breakfast and I made your favorite waffles! You don't want to be late now, do you?" My mum's shout carried across the kitchen into my room.

"Are they blue?" I shouted back.

"Of course, I know how much you like them blue, that's an age old tradition we'll never forgo, right?" She replied.

Oh bless my mum. Trust her to know how to get me awake instantly. The effect was even better than black coffee with no sugar.

I wasted no time in dashing out of my room into the dining table. Paul was already there, savoring the delicious waffles. He looked at me while taking big bites and chewing them slowly, taunting me the fact that he got to taste them first. I gave a huff and sauntered over.

"Morning mum, morning Paul." I greeted them.

"Morning Percy." They replied simultaneously.

I grabbed a plate and loaded four pancakes before diving into them. Figuratively speaking, of course. I wasn't _that_ hungry.

"Percy, slow down, no one's going to steal them from you." My mum chided when she saw me wolfing down the pancakes.

I gave some sort of unintelligible reply.

"And don't speak with your mouth full, Percy."

I simply nodded.

After breakfast, I brushed my teeth and took a relaxing shower. Then I grabbed my bag which I packed for camp and headed for the door. Mum and Paul would be sending me to camp and Paul would drive. I was pumped for this summer!

The drive was peaceful. All of us were chatting about some thing or another before the topic of the conversation turned to Annabeth. I never told my mum about Annabeth being my girlfriend and she only found out when Annabeth Iris-messsaged me one day. She overheard the "I love you's" we exchanged to each other at the end of the call and I found her standing behind me, shell-shocked and mouth open. It soon turned into a smirk which I found creepy and she had been going "Aww, my little baby's all grown up and having a girlfriend now" on me ever since. Paul wasn't any better when mum told him about it.

"So Percy, about Annabeth…" My mum trailed off.

"What, mum?" I groaned. We had been through this about a thousand times.

"I'm so glad you two are together. She's smart, beautiful and well-mannered. She's perfect for you and I won't mind having her as my future daughter-in-law!" She continued gushing. I blushed heavily at her words.

"Whatever." I mumbled. At the moment, my heart wasn't in the conversation. The dream yesterday had resurfaced in my mind again. Overlord. Ruler of existence. Hat. Sword. My mind had a unique way of simplifying things for me. Prophecy. Stronger than Chaos. Difficult path ahe-

"Percy, you're zoning out again! Is something the matter?" My mum asked, concern filling her voice.

"It's nothing…"

"You're my son, Percy. I can tell when something is bothering you."

"That's right, Percy." Paul chipped in. "You can always tell us what's on your mind. We're your family after all."

I really wanted to tell them about my dream and the Overlord (he apparently likes that name). But they'll just dismiss it as some weird dream we demigods always have. But I knew better, this one seemed more serious, and at the same time connected to my future.

"Nah, its nothing. How much further now, Paul?"

Paul sighed at my obstinacy. "About a mile or so now. Percy, you don't have to tell us now, but remember that your mum and I will always back you up."

"Sure." I mumbled to myself. I got bored and turned around so I was facing the road behind. If It wasn't for my ADHD, I definitely would have missed seeing a few heads ducking behind trees, which didn't look too human to me. I sighed for the umpteenth time for the day, knowing what had to be done.

Slumping back on the seats, I said, "Paul, I think you can drop me off here now. Half-blood Hill's not too far ahead. I can walk there now."

Paul turned to me. "What's wrong now? It's not too far for-"

"Saw a few monsters just now." I cut him off. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Mum, who was already used to my monster-riddled life, understood. "I understand sweetie. Just be careful, ok?" I could see that she was slightly worried, but knew that it was for the best. She knew I didn't want them hurt because of me.

Paul stopped the car. "Well, this is it. Make sure you get to camp safely, ok? Slice up a few monsters for me, will you?" He grinned.

I loved my parents. They're so understanding. Not many half-bloods were as lucky as me concerning their family. Take my girlfriend, for example.

Mum gave me a kiss on the cheek while Paul patted my shoulders before I alighted the car with my bag. "Bye!" I waved at the gradually disappearing car in the horizon. Bag in one hand, pen/sword in another, I resumed my journey on foot. And kick some monster a-, um, rear along the way if they decided to show up.

They did. Stepping through some bushes, facing me were a couple of hellhounds and dracaenae-snake women in Greek armour. "You die today, Perssseussss. Our misstressss needs you out of the picture."

It never occurred to me who their mistress might be before I took a ready pose. "And here comes the welcoming committee." I muttered.

xxx

Trudging through the borders of camp, I was _not _a happy camper. The dracaenae's swords broke when they hit my body, thanks to the Curse of Achilles, but the hellhounds had managed to land a few blows in various places. Although there were no visible wounds, my body felt sore. It's sad that my skills had somewhat deteriorated after a year of inaction.

Peleus, the guardian dragon of Thalia's pine tree peered at my dust-covered body curiously as I hefted my bag through the camp entrance. I took a moment to admire the Golden Fleece glittering brightly under the sun. Taking a deep breath, I was revitalised by the fresh air. Campers both young and old were milling around. Some were shooting hoops at the basketball court while others attempted to scale the climbing wall. I pitied the younger ones as they nearly got singed by the lava flowing down the wall.

Walking further down, the twelve cabins of the Olympian gods arranged in a "U" shape could be seen. Those were where us demigods would sleep in during our stay in camp according to their Olympian parent. Last year after the Titan War, I made the gods swear on the River Styx to claim and acknowledge all their children, including those belonged to the minor gods. As such, Annabeth had designed an entirely new wing of cabins for them, including Hades'. That's where Nico stays now when he visits camp.

The amphitheatre was situated on the other side, where campers roast marshmellows and s'mores over a campfire. The Apollo cabin would lead the singalong, where cheesy campfire songs were sung by everyone. Further down the path, a huge building which was understandably called the Big House could be seen. On a normal day, Mr D, our camp director and Chiron, our activities instructor could be seen playing pinochle.

Resting after being attacked by monsters sounded tempting right now. I decided to take a nap at my cabin until shower time. Keeping an eye out for Annabeth, I walked towards Cabin 3, Poseidon's cabin. A few older campers greeted me with smiles, which I returned. Since the Big Three only had one child each, besides Tyson since he is a cyclops, I expected my cabin to be empty as I entered.

The girl I came to love fell into vision. She was lying on my bunk reading an architecture book. Seeing me, Annabeth jumped up and tackled me in to a crushing hug. I survived.

"I missed you, Seaweed Brain." She mumbled into by chest.

"I missed you too." I looked down at her fondly and kissed the top of her head. She removed her head from my chest but remained in my embrace. She made a "pfft" sound and frowned. "What's this all over your body?" Oh.

"Apparently you just tasted some hellhound and dracaenae dust." I grinned at her cheekily.

"Eww." Scrunching up her nose, she seemed to notice my slightly damaged clothes for the first time. "Oh gosh, you were attacked? Are you alright?" Annabeth exclaimed. _And I thought that daughters of Athena were supposed to be observant_.

"Nah, it's nothing. I _am _invincible after all." I smirked. "Just need a little rest, that's all, before camp activities start." I said while walking to my bunk.

"Hold on." Annabeth grabbed my shoulder. "You still have to wash my mouth off the monster dust, you know." It was her turn to smirk. Now her Athenian traits were starting to kick in. Before I could reply, she had attached her lips to mine.

_Screw it_. I thought as I kissed her back hungrily. _There goes my nap_.

xxx

"Hey Perce, welcome back!" The Stoll brothers, councilors of Hermes' cabin greeted me with grins on their faces.

"Nice to see you guys too. And no, Connor, my wallet is not at my back pocket. You're violating me with your patting, you know." Said boy removed his hands from my back pocket reluctantly.

"Dammit, Perce. You're beginning to know us too well!" Travis sighed.

"Yeah, yeah and look, Katie's looking positively livid over there. Did you guys prank the Demeter cabin again?" I asked, seeing Katie not too far away, screaming, "Stolls! When I get my hands on you two, YOU GUYS ARE DEAD!"

"Definitely too well." Muttered Connor. "Let's scram now, see ya Perce!" They took off just as Katie turned to our direction.

"There you guys are! Get them for me Percy!"

I did nothing, of course. But Katie ignored me and continued in pursuit of them, still screaming.

I laughed to myself. _Nothing changes_.

xxx

"To the gods!" Chiron bellowed.

"To the gods!" Everyone raised their cups together.

Dinner was great. You couldn't go wrong with pizza and barbeque. After throwing a slice of pizza into the brazier as an offering to Dad, I sat at the Poseidon table, alone. No one was allowed to sit at the other gods' tables, and Tyson was working at the underwater forges. I was used to the loneliness though. I winked at Annabeth across the Athena table while munching on a chicken and pineapple pizza, and she smiled back.

After that, we were ushered to the amphitheatre for the singalong. The campfire burned red and high, reflecting everyone's moods. I clapped and sang along, with Annabeth beside me. I was truly enjoying myself, this was how us half-bloods should live every day, instead of having war councils against immortals who want to rule the world.

Finally, Chiron announced that it was lights out. Everyone groaned loudly, including me, we were having so much fun. Nevertheless, no one disobeyed Chiron and headed to their respective cabins, led by their councilors. I pulled Annabeth up and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Goodnight." I mumbled through our lips. She kissed back and replied the same. We weren't aware of our surroundings until someone coughed in a not so subtle manner.

I was annoyed at the sudden intrusion until I looked behind Annabeth and found Malcolm and the entire Athena cabin looking at our moment. Some looked slightly abashed, others wore smirks on their faces and the younger ones had their hands over their eyes. My face flushed red, as did Annabeth's. _Right, Annabeth's the cabin leader, she was supposed to bring them back. _I smacked myself internally.

"Stupid Seaweed Brain." I heard her mutter.

I gave her one last peck before heading for my cabin. Before I entered, I turned around and yelled "Goodnight" to Annabeth. She turned around and rolled her eyes.

"Goodnight!" She yelled back before entering her own cabin. Malcolm, who was behind her muttered something about PDA before he was roughly yanked into his cabin.

I shook my head and smiled before _finally_ entering my own cabin. As I lay down on my bunk, I hoped fervently that no omnideities were going to visit my dreams anytime soon.

I was lucky, and had a dreamless sleep this time. However, I could almost, _almost_ hear his voice saying in my ear.

_Soon, soon._

* * *

**There you go. Sorry to anyone who felt that this chapter was too boring, but this is just a filler. I don't really like it when some people just make their characters fall into another dimension in the first chapter (no offense to those who do though). I promise, that the excitement will start in the next chapter. Did I make any of the characters too OOC, especially Annabeth? I kept feeling something was wrong as I typed this chapter, because the flow was somehow not as smooth as it should be. Review, or PM me to tell me what you think. Heck, you guys can even flame me on where I did wrong, but with reasons. Yes, I'm that desperate to improve. Until next time.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, hello. Nothing much to say as of now. So, just read on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, neither do I own One Piece, the only anime which could make you cry over a blooming sakura tree in the winter. They belong to Rick Riordan and Eiichiro Oda respectively.**

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Chapter 4

Days at camp passed by peacefully. New campers came in nearly every day, escorted by their satyrs, and usually with some nasty abominations on their tails. As the unofficial leader of the camp, I tried to give my warmest welcome to everyone, knowing that they were badly shaken up after their recent revelations of their family background.

Sometimes, Annabeth would stay by my side, giving a far better explanation of the mythological world to them than me. In the meantime, I focused on preventing Clarisse from dunking the newbies' heads in toilet bowls. I also taught sword fighting to the beginners, since Chiron saw fit for me to do so, much like how Luke gave me my first… and last sword fighting lesson.

As the days slipped into weeks, the dream encounter with the Overlord was pushed into the back of my mind. I could almost forget about it entirely, but somehow it was stuck there where I left it-at the back of my mind. A slight uncomfortable feeling was present in my heart all the time, a small nervous feeling, like knowing that somehow _something_ was going to happen. Despite all those insecurities, my daily activities proved to be an excellent distraction.

Besides the ones who chase after new campers, no monsters have invaded the camp borders. I was beginning to think that it might have been a little _too_ peaceful. The calm before the storm. Or maybe I was just paranoid after the dream. Better not jinx my luck though, they never seem to last.

Coming back to the present, I had more important things to attend to. Right now, it's asking Annabeth out on our first date after a year of being together. I knew it was overdue, but better late than never. And it's safe to say that right now I'm panicking on the inside. I spotted her walking past the Hermes cabin and jogged up to her.

"Hey, um, Annabeth!" I greeted her, a tad bit nervous about my next question. She turned around and spotted me, first giving me a smile and then narrowing her eyes at me slightly.

"What is it, Seaweed Brain?" She didn't sound too annoyed, which was a good start.

"I was wondering, uh, well…" I licked my lips nervously. This was going to be harder than I thought. The way I acted around her was as if we were strangers.

She arched an eyebrow and placed a delicate hand on her hips. "Make it quick, Percy. I've got something to ask Chiron."

_Shit. She's getting annoyed. Man up, Percy, tighten up your balls and ask her already. She's a demigod, not a titaness for goodness' sake!_

_Yeah, but sometimes she's even scarier than one! What if she said no? What if she was busy or something?_

_You never know until you ask her doofus. Look, she's starting to look irritated now. You don't want her to whip your rear when she's pissed. Just ask her NOW!_

"You have three seconds before I-"

"Will you" I said quickly, anything to extend my life. Taking a deep breath, I continued, "-go out with me tonight?"

A hint of a smile was shown on her beautiful pink lips. "That's all? You look like you were constipating, Seaweed Brain."

"I was not!" I replied indignantly. "It's just that this is the first time I'm asking you out on a date since we got together last summer. You can't blame me for being nervous!"

The aforementioned smile was evident now. "You didn't have to look so uptight, Percy. I could _almost_ sense an internal conflict raging in that Seaweed Brain of yours." She poked my forehead.

"So, is it a yes or a no?"

"Depends, does Chiron allow us to leave camp for a couple of hours?" _She's not making this easy for me._

"I already asked and he consented. He actually encouraged me to do so since our date was long overdue."

"Hmm… let me see." She put on a thoughtful expression and turned around, back facing me. "I might have to check my schedule first, you know. I could be occupied." She said this in a serious tone, but I _knew_ she was grinning. An evil plan surfaced in my mind. I never tried it before, but I was hoping it might work.

I wrapped both arms around her waist from behind. "But surely-" I kissed her neck once and exhaled. She shivered and extended her neck instinctively.

"-you could reschedule-" Another kiss and a soft groan escaped her lips. "-for this special occasion." One last lingering kiss and she sighed. I smiled widely, knowing I had broken down her fake barriers.

"Fine, you win Seaweed Brain. I never knew you had it in you." She turned around and smirked. "I like it."

"I'm much better than you think. I'll pick you up at 7.30, is that okay?"

"Not bad of a planning for a Seaweed Brain, sure." Annabeth turned around in my arms facing me. She gave me one last kiss before running towards the Big House while shouting, "Don't be late!"

I let out my breath with a loud sigh. _I'm still alive_.

xxx

As the day turned to night, I was busy preparing for the date in my cabin. I had asked for advice from the Aphrodite cabin campers, especially the girls, who were more than happy to give me a few pointers here and there.

A smart-looking dress shirt and pants had mysteriously appeared in my bag just when I was panicking over my attire. A "Good Luck!" note lay on the shirt, and I knew only one person, or in this case, a goddess who would help me in situations like this. I guess I'd thank Aphrodite herself the next time I see her. With everything set, my confidence grew.

At 7.30 sharp, I stood ready outside the Athena cabin. Taking a deep breath, I knocked the door.

"Get the door, will you Malcolm? Tell him I'll be there in a minute." I immediately matched the voice to Annabeth's.

A few ticks later, the door opened, with Malcolm standing there holding the door. He greeted me before letting me in. Annabeth's other siblings, young and old, instantly surrounded me.

"So, you want to bring our sister and counselor out on a date huh?" Malcolm asked. Everyone around me wore a serious expression, which I found slightly disconcerting.

"Um, yes." Was all I could muster out.

"Well then, make sure things go smoothly, don't screw anything up."

_Like I want to screw anything up. Blame the monsters!_

"This is her first ever date, make it a memorable one for her."

_As if you need to tell me that…_

"Bring her back before twelve."

_Are you her father or something?_

Everyone pummeled me with do's and don't's, and I was beginning to wonder if they were letting me go at all.

"Guys, give him a break." Annabeth's voice rang out, and she appeared out of nowhere.

I turned to Annabeth to thank her, but my words got stuck in my throat. There she was, adorned in a light green dress which reached her knees. She wore her favorite silver owl earrings, a gift from Athena herself and her face had the slightest touch of makeup. She looked like a goddess, which wasn't hard, considering she was half of one.

"Wow." I breathed out.

"I'm flattered, Percy. But I believe that we should get going now." Annabeth smiled at my open-mouthed expression.

"Bye, Annabeth. Have a good time!"

"Enjoy yourself!"

"Remember what we said!"

The last statement was undoubtedly directed towards me.

As we strolled up the hill to the camp's entrance, a mild headache started to form, but I did my best to ignore it, determined not to let anything mess up this date.

"So, how are we getting to that restaurant you mentioned, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth enquired.

"I-" I shook my head slightly as the headache grew more uncomfortable, and I raised a hand to massage my temples.

"Percy, are you okay?" _Ah, the powers of observation from a daughter of Athena._

I took a few deep breaths. "I don't know, this headache sprang out of nowhere."

Just then, the conch horn sounded, but it wasn't the dinner kind, this was the type used as the camp alarm.

"Camp's in danger, let's go!" I beckoned to Annabeth. Great timing. Of all days, the monsters chose _this_ day to show up.

"But Percy, you-"She began, but I interrupted her.

"I'll be fine, let's go!" I uncapped Riptide while running up the hill. Reluctantly, Annabeth ran back to her cabin to retrieve her knife.

During that time, campers around me had started running to the entrance as well. A few had found the time to don some armor, but most just grabbed their weapons, be they swords, spears or knives. Everyone looked grim, preparing another inevitable fight with whatever enemies we had.

I wasted no time in sprinting up the hill, all the while the headache growing more unpleasant. I could almost swear that I was hearing things as well. I glanced at the camp entrance, there were no monsters of any sort, but I could make out several humanoid figures.

_More new demigods? Why sound the alarm then? _But deep down in my heart, I was grateful that no one was getting hurt today.

I stumbled the rest of the way as the headache finally reached the point of being unbearable. I kneeled on the grassy surface while clutching my head. The feeling was excruciating, like something I kept hidden in my mind had decided to worm through my brain and made itself known. I could almost decipher the voice in my head now. Jaw clenched tightly, eyes squeezed shut, I groaned loudly in pain.

My predicament caught the attention of several campers around me. They bent down and asked me what was wrong. Annabeth, who finally caught up, kneeled beside me, putting a hand on my back.

"What's wrong, Percy? Tell me!" She shouted in a somewhat panicky tone.

I was in no condition to reply. I could almost hear the voice now. I strained to hear whatever message my messed up head had brought me.

As the words finally cleared, I let out a blood-chilling scream, making a few demigods around me flinched back in shock and surprise.

_The lives of fallen shall rise and return. It has begun. _The voice echoed in my mind. I instantly recognized that line from the prophecy ordained by the Overlord.

And all of a sudden, the pain vanished, leaving me breathless. I panted heavily, trying to recover from the ordeal.

"No, no way. What do you mean it has begun?" I muttered to myself, relieved that I was no longer in pain. Was the prophecy given by the Overlord starting now? I wasn't prepared for another quest, or another war. Meanwhile, I heard a few audible gasps and rushed conversations.

"B-b-b-but h-how are you guys here? You were all…"

"N-n-no way! H-how in Hades…"

Beside me, Annabeth gave a gasp loudest of them all.

Wearily, I lifted my head to see what the commotion was all about. The scene in front of me, was something which would change my life forever.

My eyes widened, and something clicked inside my seaweed-filled brain. The first line of the prophecy, it made sense now. There was no denying it.

Because standing in front of me were Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Bianca di Angelo.

Lee Fletcher, Michael Yew, Castor.

And the last one standing in front of them all, was Luke Castellan.

_Oh. Shit._

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**I wanted to write more, but didn't want to keep you guys waiting. So, I'm asking here. Would you guys rather I update at this rate with chapters of this length, or later updates but with longer chapters? Oh, and please do leave a review. On which points could I improve? Is it too boring? Too short? Your feedback is invaluable, so… yeah. Until next time.**


	5. Chapter 5

**What do you get from an author who just got the Mark of Athena, a rejected project so it had to be redone, and plays Dota 2 when there's a Halloween event going on? An extremely late update! I'm very sorry guys, but life's a teensy bit busy now so there you have it! **

**Disclaimer: PJO is owned by Rick Riordan and One Piece by Eiichiro Oda. Never will it be mine.**

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Chapter 5

"Luke?" Annabeth whispered.

"Hey Annabeth." Luke smiled.

As the realization of the campers who died in the Titan War returning alive kicked in, they were instantly mobbed by their respective siblings. Cheers were heard everywhere.

Beckendorf bellowed in laughter while he was being hugged from all sides of his huge torso. Silena was no better, having the Aphrodite campers squealing while hugging her must be tough. Lee and Michael were embraced by their Apollo half siblings. Bianca was being stared at in wonder by the campers as she was the full sister of Nico di Angelo, who sometimes freaked them out with his powers over the undead. Pollux and Castor were crying openly in a tight embrace, which was understandable since they only had each other as the sons of Dionysus.

As for Luke, Annabeth ran up to him and gave him a big bear hug. Luke hugged back while laughing with the Hermes cabin. The other campers looked at him warily, since he used to betray us during the Titan War, and became the host for Kronos.

"Well what is all this…" Chiron, who had just cantered over, trailed off as he saw them. His mouth fell open, but he managed to choke out a single word. "W-w-what?"

The dead but alive campers turned to Chiron and smiled. They walked up to him and took turns hugging his stallion body, yet he didn't seem to feel a thing. I don't blame him, the shock couldn't have been good for his four thousand year old heart.

Finally Chiron snapped out of his stupor by shaking his head vigorously, trying to come to terms to what he was seeing, or deciding if he needed a new pair of glasses. "H-how? Luke, you aren't…?"

Luke looked down. "No, Chiron. I'm no longer under Kronos' control."

"We… we have to discuss all this. All cabin counselors, meeting in the Big House now!" Chiron ordered. "Imagine what Lord Zeus or Lord Hades would say about this." Chiron shook his head.

The campers walked away to wherever they had been before, still casting occasional glances at the resurrected.

Chiron turned to Bianca. "I'm sure Nico would be delighted to see you again, my dear."

Bianca gave a sad smile. "I missed him badly too."

"Come on, Percy. Are you alright? You look deathly pale." Chiron asked.

Castor laughed. "Who wouldn't after seeing their friends return from the dead?"

"But he seems more shaken up than the rest of us." Beckendorf reasoned. "Look at Annabeth."

I turned to Annabeth and she was seen chattering excitedly with Luke, and in no way looked like she just saw a ghost. I thought I even saw her _blush_, but I must've been mistaken.

She caught me staring and walked up to me offering her hand with a smile. "Get up Percy, Chiron said meeting."

I looked at the outstretched hand. It was smooth and delicate, but with a knife, it was deadly. I stared at all the thin lines etched into her palm, and the swirling prints on her fingers. Finally with a quiet sigh, I accepted it.

"I guess that date's off now huh?" I asked dejectedly.

"With all this happening, you could say that." She looked at Luke's retreating figure. "Maybe next time."

At the back of my mind, something told me that there would never be a next time.

xxx

"Elysium _is_ the paradise of the Underworld, so yeah, barbeques and parties all day. But after nearly a year, it gets kind of dull." Lee explained.

"Shocking. Getting bored of roasting hot dogs?" Will Solace wondered. "We roast marshmellows at campfire every day, but we never got bored of it."

"I meant we only had each other. Sure we made friends, but they can never be as close as you guys here in camp."

"Very touching." Katie smiled.

"We all wanted to come back, of course." Beckendorf continued, then tilted his head. "Actually, all the dead do. But the dead are supposed to stay dead. Ancient Laws."

"Which you guys didn't." Travis muttered. "No offence."

"Then a few days ago, a huge riot started. No one knew how it began, but we could hear many souls stampeding outside the walls outside the Great Wall of Elysium, you know, sort of like…"

Annabeth couldn't help herself from spouting architectural facts. "The Great Wall of China, built by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of-"

"Yes, yes." Silena cut in, apparently aware of the fact that Annabeth would drone on for hours if no one stopped her.

"As I was saying, they were stampeding outside Elysium and were running everywhere shouting 'freedom' and 'alive' over and over again."

"That time, Luke thought it was an opportunity to see for ourselves what was really going on and whether the ghosts were actually right, you know, about the part where 'alive' comes in." Castor said. "We hesitated at first… but I really, really wanted to see Pollux again. I missed him so much, we're twins after all. Bianca wanted to see Nico again as well and, um, Silena thought that dating alive was better than dead, so yeah, we're here."

"You haven't told us how you guys actually managed it." Connor said. "Sounds like a long shot."

"It was." Bianca agreed. "Well, we heard from the commotion that many entrances to the Underworld were open. I remembered there was this one called the Doors of Orpheus, so we headed there." Bianca explained.

"I've used it once." I finally made myself speak." A few years ago. You need music to open it."

Annabeth looked at me curiously. "When?"

"Not important. Carry on, Bianca."

"Um, on the way there, the Furies and Dad's other soldiers caught most of the souls before they could escape though. Thanatos helped too."

"Thanatos? Who's he?" Butch questioned. Some nodded, thinking of the same thing.

"He's another god of the Underworld." Annabeth said. "Isn't he, Bianca?"

"Yeah." Bianca confirmed. "But he's not a ruler, more like a lieutenant of dad. As I said just now, Dad's minions caught most of the souls they came across. But get this, they _ignored_ us, and rushed past us to the other souls in front."

"You _are_ his daughter after all. Maybe Hades saw it as an opportunity to let you return to the living." I said.

"No, Percy." Bianca shook her head. "I may be his daughter, but that doesn't mean he can play favorites. He has the Ancient Laws to follow after all."

"Maybe you guys were invisible or something?" Travis suggested. Katie whacked his head.

"Idiot, they can't turn invisible, nor do they have Annabeth's invisibility cap!" She growled.

"There's this weird feeling though…" Silena said uncertainly.

"What?" Everyone leaned closer to her.

"There was this… what do you call it? A presence?" Silena thought aloud. "Yeah, I guess you could call it a presence."

"What about it?" The resident bully, Clarrise asked. She had been good friends with Silena before Silena died, and I could see she was happy to see her again.

"It's like, this… you know?" She waved her hands helplessly.

"We don't!" The Stolls said in unison, earning an irritated look from Silena.

"Never mind about that." Luke interjected. "What happened after that was that the Apollo brothers did their music thingy and ta da! Open sesame! So now here we are."

Lee and Michael fist bumped each other.

"I love my guitar." Michael said. "But I love being alive more."

No one questioned him why he was carrying a guitar in an escape mission.

Chiron sat on his wheelchair scratching his chin.

"From what you said, the Underworld now seems to be in a state of unrest, and if these entrances are somehow open-"

"The dead can come back to life." Annabeth finished. "That can't be good. Monsters killed can return from Tartarus. Chiron, is there such an entrance all the way down in Tartarus?"

Chiron instantly went pale, eyes wide, but immediately righted his expression. No one seemed to notice, except me. Ok, if there's anything that could cause the normally calm Chiron to shake up, _and_ coupled with this prophecy I got, then my life was going to go downhill pretty soon.

"Don't worry about it Annabeth, like I said, most souls were recaptured. I'm sure dad would have found a solution to all this by now." Bianca reassured her.

"But it _is_ strange that you guys were ignored." Clarrise pointed out. "And Silena, you said you felt a, you called it a presence?"

"I felt it too. I had originally thought that it was my imagination, but now that Silena mentioned it, the presence was kind of unsettling, but I don't know…" Castor said.

All eyes turned to Annabeth.

"What? Don't look at me! I hardly pay visits to the Underworld to know everything there."

"Percy, what do you think?" Luke asked. The way he looked at me was so intense, as if he was trying to read what was on my mind.

"His prophecy." I blurted out.

The stares intensified, and I realized my mistake a little too late.

"Prophecy? What prophecy are you talking about, Percy?" Annabeth just had to ask that dreaded question.

"Huh? I, uh…" Then a brilliant idea struck me. "Ah, you know, the prophecy Rachel gave last summer? Something about the Doors of Death? That must be it!" I exclaimed, silently praising my impressive self.

I guess I sounded a little too excited, and my plan wasn't exactly flawless.

"Um, you said _his_, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth pointed out. "And you sounded _very_ sure." Oh, her brilliant mind was going to be the death of me someday.

"Ah, haha." I chuckled nervously. "Just a slip of the tongue, I guess. Besides, what other prophecy is there? It's not like I personally got another…" Oh shit, I nearly slipped up again.

"Another…?" Annabeth prompted.

"Huh? Nothing! Now we should-"

"But you said-"

"I know what I said!" I raised my voice, but lowered it back down immediately. "It's just…" I sighed and stared at my palms.

"Let it go, Annabeth. Percy probably doesn't want to talk about it." Luke said.

Annabeth gave me a glare before turning away with a huff.

I was thankful for Luke's help, but I didn't think his statement would sit well with Annabeth. She probably thought I didn't trust her enough to share any secrets I might have. She's wrong. I trusted her with my life, especially after she took a poisoned knife for me at the last Titan War. But this… this prophecy wasn't anything like before. It came from the ruler of Existence himself. Now that the first line had come true, no doubt "space will shift and worlds will collide".

Maybe I should check the news more often to see if astrologists recently discovered that the planets had deviated away from their orbitary path and one day we might crash with Venus or Mars.

And Luke. I still couldn't trust him fully after the war. Sure he sacrificed himself by stabbing his Achilles' heel to kill Kronos, but after being wary of him for many years, old habits die hard.

Chiron gave a long sigh. "I guess we pretty much discussed what we needed to know. Except for the next Great Prophecy Percy mentioned." Chiron turned to look at me.

"It could be nothing, maybe just some souls causing a riot, but as a precaution, please stay alert at all times. And tell your cabin members about the results of this meeting. If that is all, meeting adjourned. The gods would have to be informed soon, especially Lord Zeus and Lord Hades."

Everyone nodded and stood up from the ping-pong table. Just then, the dinner horn sounded.

"Ah, camp food. Haven't eaten them in ages!" Luke said, clapping both his hands together. "I wonder if they still taste just as good as all those years ago."

"Don't worry, Luke." Annabeth told him with a smile. "They're still the best."

"All right then, let's go! I'm hungry." Beckendorf said enthusiastically.

Everyone left the Big House. As we walked, I noticed a sword in a scabbard strapped to Luke's waist. Must be his new weapon after Backbiter.

Something deep in my mind compelled me to look at the new sword.

"Is that a new sword, Luke? Mind if I see it?" I asked, trying not to sound too curious, which I probably did.

"Huh? Yeah it's a new sword. Well…" He hesitated for a moment. He unsheathed the sword and placed it in my hands.

"Here you go."

"Thanks"

Three feet long of Celestial Bronze metal. Normal. A red gem set in the hilt. Unusual, but must be ornamental, so nothing wrong here.

I was about to hand the sword back to Luke when something clicked in my brain and I jumped back in shock, nearly dropping the sword.

"What is it Percy?" Luke asked. I noticed he looked a little concerned. So did the others when they turned around to look at me too.

"Ah, nothing. Just tripped." I said casually.

"Huh, you looked a bit shocked there, Seaweed Brain. Watch where you're walking next time, especially when holding a sharp weapon." Annabeth teased me.

Shocked? Oh, I definitely was.

Because lo and behold, in my hands lay the sword in my dream so many days ago, the object which could change my life, either positively or negatively.

And I was most definitely sure it wasn't the former.

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**This chapter is for the explanations regarding the resurrected, as well as leaving some subtle hints. 1 or 2 chapters left until Percy meets the Strawhat crew! So, read, review and tell me what you think! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Heh heh, late update again. Sorry I guess. There's something I need to rant about if you guys would listen… or read. My mum, complete with "mum logic", thinks that reading FanFiction on my mobile will ruin my eyesight because the words are too small. So she threatened to confiscate my phone if she caught me again. That's some crappy reasoning if you ask me. The words on regular books are about the same. I mean, that's what FanFiction mobile is for, right? And I read most of them in my phone because reading from the laptop is a bit uncomfortable. Dang, how am I gonna survive now?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the books which make kids fall in love with Greek mythology, nor do I own the manga/anime which makes people cry over empty burning ships. They belong to Rick Riordan and Eiichiro Oda respectively.**

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Chapter 6

"Nice sword." I commented as nonchalantly as I could. "Where did you get it?"

"Uh, I think it was a few days before the riot, found it in a park in Elysium. It looked to be in good condition but was lying around abandoned, sheath and all, so…" Luke shrugged. "Finder's keeper's"

We continued our way to the pavilion when Luke suddenly turned to look at me. "You _are_ the best swordsman in camp right, Percy?"

I was taken aback. "Huh, not really. Why do you ask?"

Travis slapped me on the back non too softly. "Of course he is, he's just too humble to admit it. You should've seen him kick Clarrise's ass yesterday in swordfighting."

"WHAT WAS THAT, TRAVIS STOLL!" Clarrise hollered.

I rubbed the back of my head, slightly embarrassed. "Nah, I was just lucky she didn't, uh, see that slash coming."

"Prissy." Clarrise muttered. She wasn't pleased that I was able to injure her every time we sparred.

Travis shook his head. "See? Humble, I tell you."

"Well then." Luke smiled. "What do you say to a duel tomorrow afternoon?"

"Huh?" I didn't know what to say. "A duel? I don't know…"

"Come on, Percy." Annabeth said. "You aren't afraid of losing are you? I bet everyone in camp would like to see who's better."

_I've been afraid of dying because of him, Annabeth._ I thought to myself.

I proceeded to weigh the outcomes. If I won, all is well, and maybe I get to tease Luke that his time in Elysium had soften him. If I lost, the camp will see that Luke is stronger and choose him to be the leader over me despite his misgivings.

I paused. Is it possible? Now that he had turned good, people might want him back, and the strongest is usually the leader. And if I didn't accept the duel at all, what would the campers say?

_The Hero of Olympus afraid of a son of Hermes? What a wimp!_

Suddenly, I realized that in some twisted way, Luke had effectively trapped me, and I had no way out. Those feelings of insecurities of the prophecy began to resurface, and the screwed up summer days I predicted seemed to become truer every minute. Especially since Luke owned _that_ sword. For now, I had no choice.

"I accept." I finally answered.

"Whoa, this is going to be epic! Ex-swordsmanship instructor versus current." Jake Mason exclaimed. The others agreed. No one seemed to notice Luke's grin widened slightly.

Yup, life is going to tumble downhill soon. The hilt of Luke's sword glinted in the moonlight, as if agreeing.

Luke, what are you up to?

xxx

Dinner when something like this.

Nico di Angelo shadow travelled in right on top of the Poseidon table, nearly upsetting my plate of barbeque in doing so.

"Hey Percy, long time no see!" He greeted me casually while pushing himself off the table and looked around.

"Nice to see you too. Now get off before I make you."

"Sheesh, someone's in a bad mood." Nico muttered and hopped off the table.

"Oh hey Chiron." He waved at said centaur, who just stared back with a surprised look on his face.

"Hi Annabeth, and Luke too! Hey Bian-" He stopped short.

_Oh boy._

"What in HADES is going on?!" Nico shouted. "And you!" He turned to Luke with rage in his eyes. Drawing his Stygian Iron sword, he looked ready to charge the Hermes table. Bianca jumped up and ran to him before he could though.

"Nico!" She hugged him tightly, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Don't, he's a friend now."

Nico seemed to lose all his previous hatred. His sword clanged on the floor and he slowly raised his arms to hug his sister back.

"B-Bianca, i-is it r-really you?" Nico whispered.

"Yes, Nico." Bianca hugged him tighter. "I'm alive. We're all alive, most of us anyway, and that includes Luke."

The scene in front of us seemed a little private for outsiders. I looked down at my barbeque awkwardly and continued eating. Most campers followed suit.

Nico pulled back slowly after a while, sniffing a little. "I'm glad to see you sis. But how… and him…" He pointed at Luke, eyes hardening just a little.

"Save the questions for later. For now, let's eat!" Bianca tugged at Nico's hand, guiding him to the Hades table happily.

I smiled at the affection between the siblings. Nico looked so contented and cheerful. Ever since Bianca died on a quest a few years ago, he became moody and depressed, blaming and hating me for a while for his sister's death. He got over it after the quest in the Labyrinth, and opened up a little. But now, he was truly happy, like back in the days when I first knew him. It was perfect.

Which was more than I could hope for in my near future.

xxx

Before the campfire ended, Nico dragged me away from Annabeth.

"Don't mind if I borrow your boyfriend for a minute, Annabeth?" He asked her.

"My… Oh yeah, sure. Go ahead." Annabeth looked at us for a moment quizzically before turning back to the roaring, color-changing flames.

"What's wrong, Nico?" I grumbled while being led away insistently, nearly tripping over a rock in the process. "Ah hey, watch it!"

"Sorry." His apology didn't sound like one. I decided to let it go.

"Now speak." I said as he finally stopped. I leaned against a tree, waiting.

"I don't trust him." Nico said seriously.

"Who?" I asked, although I had an idea who he was speaking of.

"Luke, duh!" He knocked on my head like a person would do to a door.

I brushed his hand off irritably and sighed. "I know how you feel, but Luke had turned good. Our old friends said so."

"I know what they said." He ran a hand though his messy black hair. "But I still feel uneasy about him. He still has that mysterious aura around him. Whatever they said, still don't trust him." He repeated stubbornly.

A thought struck me.

"By the way, Luke challenged me to a duel tomorrow afternoon." I said.

Nico's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound too good. What did he do that for?"

"He sounded like he wanted a friendly sparring, but…" I poured out my previous assumptions to him. When I was done, he crossed his arms with a frown.

"Hmph, I knew he was up to something fishy. That cunning little-"

"Nico." I cut him off from whatever colorful vocabulary he was going to use next. "It's just a guess, we can't be sure yet."

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue in frustration. "Whatever, you still have to train tomorrow morning if you want to beat him."

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Then I remembered something.

"About the underworld riot, what happened?" I asked.

Nico yawned. "Apparently the souls thought they could achieve freedom by mass stampedes. Not very useful, since they kept stumbling over each other. The ones who tried to run were caught easily."

"Except our friends." I pointed out.

"I agree that was strange. Bianca said the guards ignored them, but I had no idea why."

I stood back straight up from the tree. It was my turn to yawn. "We have to go, it's lights out soon."

"Hold on. There's one more thing."

I leaned back on the tree tiredly. "And it's about…?"

"Annabeth."

I perked up a bit at the name of my girlfriend. "Yeah, what about her?"

"I'm going to say this straight out, so don't be shocked."

I waited.

"I think she's falling for Luke again."

I nearly choked on the saliva I just swallowed. After a few coughs and quick breaths, I finally recovered. Nico looked at me. "I said don't be shocked." He said amusedly.

"Dude, Nico. That's impossible."

"And why is that?"

"First off, he's like, five years older than her." I reasoned.

"It's not too big of a difference. Besides, age is not a barrier between true love." He said in a sagely tone.

I snorted. "_That_, is one cheesy line coming from you." Nico looked like he wanted to retort, but I continued on before he could.

"And, after Luke stabbed himself to destroy Kronos, he asked if Annabeth had ever loved him."

"I'm guessing she said no that time." Nico said.

"She said that Luke was like a brother to her, which made sense, since he and Thalia protected her when she was younger." I explained.

"Percy." He placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head slowly. "Would you confess to someone you crushed on for a long time that you love her while she's on the brink of death?"

"Um." I thought myself saying 'I love you' to Annabeth while she's lying in a pool of her own blood, a few seconds away from drawing her last breath.

I shook my head to get rid of the disturbing images. "I can't imagine it. It would be too painful."

"That, was the pain that Annabeth felt when she saw Luke dying. She didn't want to say it because her feelings would be unrequited. Until now."

My head and heart were both in a turmoil. Could what Nico said be true?

"Then what about me?" I asked him sadly. "What am I to her?"

"If you ask me, Annabeth definitely harbors feelings for you, which is why she's your girlfriend right now. Those times you spent with her during quest did mean something to her. Her feelings for you were unfounded because Luke was still around. After he died, well, you were the only guy she truly cared about. That's why she finally admitted her feelings for you." Nico nodded to himself while explaining.

"Look, I'm not trying to ruin your relationship with Annabeth or anything. I just want to get you mentally prepared for the future." He continued.

I smiled to myself. The future huh? Relationship problems would be the last of my worries.

"I know, and I'm grateful." I then gave him a look. "When did you learn so much about love and relationships anyway?"

"Travelling to different places broadens one's horizon, thus my understanding of the world increases." He deadpanned. "And you should've notice that Annabeth kept stealing glances at Luke. That's one of the signs."

"Go join the Aphrodite cabin, Nico. I'm sure they'd love to have you." I laughed.

Nico smiled and looked at the now dispersing campers. "Bedtime, Percy. Let's go before the harpies get us. And don't forget to train!"

"Sure, sure. By the way, how long are you staying?" I asked.

"Not sure, until I feel like leaving. But remember, I'll always stand by you."

I smiled and waved him goodnight. After finding Annabeth and giving her a goodnight kiss (thankfully not making a scene this time), I lay on my bunk thinking.

Tomorrow, the duel will change everything, and not likely in my favor. I have to win. I sighed before closing my eyes.

Strawhat, come out quick, I need you to counteract my soon to be negatively affected life.

* * *

**And there you have it! Man, typing really drains me out, although it's only around 2k words. The story is coming out longer than I expected because I really want to leave no stone unturned. AND I HAVEN'T WRITTEN THE GODS' GOD DAMNED REACTION YET (pun intended). Jeez, I really want to write about the Strawhat crew soon.**

**Review, or PM me about any mistakes that I made or point out where I could improve further. Flame if you want, as long as it's within reason. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Thank you to all my anonymous and signed in reviewers for their positive, well, reviews. And a big Thank You to anonymous reviewer Tosho for pointing out that Percy **_**cannot**_** be wounded because of his Curse of Achilles. HOW DID THAT SLIPPED MY MIND? Anyways, I made a few small changes in Chapter 3 to rectify that mistake. You guys are welcomed to read it if you wish, but that little change doesn't affect the later chapters, it's just to cover up that plot hole.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. I own a laptop which I'm using to type this disclaimer (and fanfic).**

* * *

Chapter 7

Nothing could make a better wake up call than a shadow travelling son of Hades falling on top of you.

"Oomph!" Nico grunted as he landed heavily on my torso. He then sprang up and shook me by my shoulders really fast, all the while yelling "WAKE UP! WAKE UP!", causing my head to loll back and forth, back and forth, back and-

"For Gods' sake, SHUT THE HELL UP!" I screamed and pushed Nico off me. I lay back down adruptly and placed a hand on my forhead, trying to quell the headache from all that shaking.

"You should be more grateful than this, you know." Nico muttered from the floor.

"Not that I'm not, but I did set the alarm clock for this." I replied, annoyed.

Just then the alarm blared. I lazily swiped at it, hoping to turn it off. As it was, I hit the side and it fell off the table. Instead of a crash I expected, all I heard was a dull thud and a shout.

"OW! WHAT THE HELL!"

And the alarm stopped.

"Thanks."

"I hate you."

Thinking that this was enough excitement in the early morning, I hopped off my bunk and landed on… guess who.

"MY GOD, GET OFF ME!" Nico yelped. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you!"

"Nope, just a series of unfortunate accidents." I stretched and gave another yawn.

After brushing my teeth and whatnot, Nico walked alongside me to the training grounds. He was rubbing his forehead where the alarm clock hit him.

"Dude, you know you have to win right?" Nico asked.

"Duh, but Luke's really good, better than me even. I'm just hoping he lost his touch in his time at Elysium. Then again, he's confident enough to request a duel…"

"I know that, that's why I'm sparring with you."

"Good. You'll make an excellent warm up before the dummies."

"Oh, shut up."

After Nico put on a helmet and body armor, he turned to me. "Don't you need…. Oh right, never mind."

I grinned, I'm a walking armor suit after all. Soon, the arena was filled with clangs coming from our swords clashing against each other. Nico was good, he definitely improved while being in the Underworld. He maneuvered his sword well, striking and blocking then counter-slashing with respectable skill and speed.

He wasn't the only one though. I continued training myself every day at camp, constantly honing my skills and attempting to come up with proper technics. The latter wasn't very successful because my brain did not have the capacity to come up with one. Plus, there weren't any campers I need to try very hard to defeat, with the exception of Annabeth, but she was mostly teaching younger campers and also having a cabin to lead. What I needed was someone strong, stronger than me so that I would be forced to improve to be on par with him or her. I never gave up though, plain stabbing and slashing alone wouldn't bring me to new heights.

Right now, Nico was doing a pretty good job at keeping me on my guard, but our spar ended when the breakfast horn sounded. Distracted, h shifted his focus at the pavilion briefly. Too late, that was all I needed to hit the sword out of his hand and point mine at his throat. His sword clanged loudly on the floor.

"I was distracted!" Nico protested.

"We both heard the horn, but only _you_ were distracted." I grinned. "You can't let that happen in a real fight, can you?"

"Hmph, fine." He raised his hands and I capped my sword. "I hope that was enough refresh your skills. You'll need it against _him_ later." He grumbled.

"Yeah, thanks a lot. You've improved quite a bit yourself."

"Go fill our stomachs first, then we'll continue."

xxx

Word did spread fast.

By the time lunch was over, news regarding our duel had spread throughout the whole camp.

"Good luck." Nico patted me on the back as I walked to the training ground, the venue of the duel.

"Do your best Luke!" I turned to see Annabeth giving the thumbs up to Luke, which he replied in kind. My heart sunk a little as I remembered Nico's word from yesterday night. Annabeth then looked at me. "You too, Percy!" She cheered. Sighing, I gave her a smile.

Hopefully, Nico was wrong. Hopefully.

During the rest of my walk, I tried praying to the Overlord. _Oh mighty Ruler of Existence, do grant thy humble servant which walks this Earth the skill and strength to defeat Luke Castellan._

Unfortunately, there was no response. Either he didn't hear, or he simply enjoyed watching me squirm. Whatever, Luke and I were now facing each other, swords drawn. The entire camp surrounded us in a big circle, watching. Even Chiron.

"Ok, rules. No killing or intentional maiming. First one to surrender or have his neck pointed by a sword loses." The centaur said.

"Um, Chiron. Both me and Luke bear the curse." I reminded him.

He looked surprised. "Ah yes, I forgot. That's one less worry then. Just the sword point at neck rule then."

"You ready?" Luke asked with a smile. Not the smile which signified friendship of goodwill, but one which bore a hint of smugness, like he already knew the outcome of our duel.

"Just one question." A silly one though, but it held my last hope. Luke nodded.

"Do you happen to have a strawhat?"

It was Luke's turn to look surprised, as did the whole camp. "That's a strange one, but the answer is no. I don't own a strawhat. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing." I sighed. "Let's begin."

Of course, as skilled fighters, none of us made the first move. We walked in a circle while eyeing each other warily. The scene wasn't much too different from two lions fighting over their territory. One a challenger -that's Luke- and the other a defender, me. The tension broke when Luke walked towards me briskly with his blue eyes set in determination. He swung his sword at me, which I blocked. I was slightly shocked at the force of the blow, and I knew that I would need a lot of strength just to defend myself. Maybe he wasn't too worried about hurting me, with the curse and all.

Without losing a beat, he lunged and I swiveled my body sideways, barely missing my shoulder. I tried taking advantage of his neglected guard but he brought his sword back to intercept my strike with astounding speed. Again, I was surprised. When did he get so good?

I jumped back before he could slash again. "You're really good, Luke. Better than last time."

"As do you. No wonder you hold the title of being the best swordsman in camp." _Which you're trying to snatch from me._ I thought to myself.

He then came at me again, dealing punishing blows to my sword in an attempt to weaken me, which was working pretty well in my opinion. For a moment, I was even afraid that Riptide would break under the onslaught.

After some ten minutes of clashing, he finally stopped his assault. I stood panting heavily, supporting myself with my sword. I could hear the newer campers murmuring.

"Wow, that Luke guy is so good. Not even Percy could beat him!"

"Yeah, Percy could barely defend himself, let alone attack."

"Percy's already exhausted, and Luke's bot even panting."

My worst fears were founded. Luke had already begun to win their hearts.

I stood up straighter. I couldn't lose, not here, not now, not in front of the whole camp. "Why did you stop? This isn't over yet."

"To me, it is." Luke replied.

For a moment, I didn't know what he meant. Then, he suddenly switched his grip so that both his hands were holding the hilt with the blade facing behind him.

"Your time is up." He said while lowering his body as if ready to sprint.

And he did. He dashed in my direction so fast that I couldn't comprehend what had happened until he had stopped behind me, still in that hunched position. A sudden searing pain erupted from my chest and I gritted my teeth to stop myself from screaming my lungs out.

I kneeled on the floor, trying to breathe through the pain as I faintly heard Chiron called out frantically for a medic from the Apollo cabin. My first thought was that I had been defeated, and the one after was the fact that my curse had somehow failed to protect me. With those thoughts, my body shut down automatically and I felt my consciousness leave me to give myself temporary solace from the pain.

xxx

Waking up, I found myself lying on one of the beds in the infirmary. With slight difficulty, I turned my head around to see Nico sitting on a chair beside my bed. He was obviously asleep, with his head nodding from time to time and his eyes closed. I gingerly felt my chest and found that it was bandaged tightly, whoever treated me did a good job. Trying to get out of bed proved futile when a sudden jolt of pain brought me back down with a groan.

"You're awake, I see." I turned to see Nico yawning and stretching his arms. He brought his chair closer to get a better look at my condition.

"Guess I lost." I muttered.

"You're wounded. How is that possible?" Nico asked. Good question.

"I could ask the same." I replied.

"Do you think it suddenly vanished, the curse I mean?"

"Not really." I punched my arm. "My knuckles still hurt, but so does my arm, but not as painful as a normal punch would deliver. It's like… it weakened, or something."

Nico put a hand under his chin and thought. For someone who wasn't quite smart, he acted really well. After some while where he held his pose and I continued to rest, he suddenly looked up.

"You once told me that Annabeth is your anchor to the mortal world, right?"

"Um, yes?" I wasn't sure where this was going.

"Do you think your curse is weakening because… Annabeth isn't as close to you as before?"

Silence.

"Um, Nico, I know she spends more time with Luke now, but that's because she missed him, you know. It's not like she stopped loving me or anything." I couldn't help but add a "right?" at the end of my sentence, showing my slightest hint of doubt.

"For starters, she's not here looking after you." Nico said bluntly.

Belatedly, I realized that he was right. I would've preferred it if it was Annabeth right by my side at this moment.

"Maybe she's busy with camp activities or something." I tried to defend her.

"Dude, I'm right here right now and you think I didn't have any activities? She's your GIRLFRIEND and she's too busy to take care of you? Chiron excused me from classes when I asked to look after you. Do you think he would've prevented her from coming?" He ranted.

I looked up at Nico, trying not to let my sadness and disappointment show on my face.

Nico's face softened. "Remember what I said about being mentally prepared?" He gave a sigh. "I'll inform Chiron and Annabeth that you're awake now. Rest well, Perce." He stood up and moved to the door.

The door opened and slammed into Nico's face.

"Nico, is Percy- Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry Nico!" It was Annabeth's voice. I let a smile appear on my face for both the presence of Annabeth and the hilarious scene of Nico rubbing his nose.

"It's okay." He grumbled. "I'm telling Chiron Percy's awake now." I heard Nico mumble something about it's about time. He then exited the infirmary and closed the door.

"You worried me, you Seaweed Brain!" She smacked my head.

"Ouch! Don't hurt the patient more." I teased.

"So, are you okay?" She finally adopted that worried expression.

"Yeah, the wound doesn't hurt as much now."

"That reminds me, what happened? I thought you're invulnerable?"

"Beats me, Annabeth. You're the smart one here." I decided not to repeat my conversation with Nico to Annabeth.

She gave a sigh of frustration, as she does whenever she couldn't figure out a problem. She then sat down on the chair Nico used earlier.

"So besides this, everything's alright, right?" She asked, but not really sounding like a question, more like stating a fact.

_Not everything, Annabeth. There would be far, far more complications for me from now on, especially with Luke out to get me._

And let's not forget that happy-go-lucky prophecy of mine.

* * *

**OMG, I finally finished this chapter! I had terrible, terrible writer's block. But I forced, FORCED myself to finish this because I'm doomed for the next 3 days. Why? I'm going on a scouting expedition which consists of a few missions and walking. A LOT OF WALKING. You know, just around 58 kilometres, no big deal. The icing of the cake? Tomorrow is my birthday. Which I'm going to spend by walking with my friends. Oh my poor back and legs. Wish me luck!**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is my New Year gift to you all! Again I apologize for late updates. Visiting relatives for Christmas does that. However, the thing is, during my year-end holidays, I got bored and did myself no good. I went and start watching another anime- Naruto. I knew it had existed since who knows how long but never found the time to watch. So I was like 'Hey, why not?' and now I'm fairly addicted already, around episode 150. Then I went further, thinking 'Ooh, I wonder what a Naruto crossover would look like. Up to now, I've breezed through PJOxNaruto and am currently reading a Fairy TailxNaruto crossover. After that, I'll be lapping up One PiecexNaruto. Oh my, I bit off more than what I could chew.**

**So now I was like 'Must… start… writing again…' while my mind was like 'Nooo… just three more episodes' and then 'BAM' a cliffhanger turns up and I succumbed. Or if I was reading a crossover mentioned above, I would finish a chapter, stare blankly at my laptop screen and continue on. The thing is I don't even know what to put in this chapter. The dreaded writer's block has struck me!**

Chapter 8

After a few days of being bedridden, I was finally allowed to leave the infirmary by Will. During my incapacitation, I was visited by my friends, including those who were resurrected. Bianca and Beckendorf reassured me that their deaths weren't my fault at all, which made me feel somewhat better, since I never really forgave myself for that. We caught up pretty quickly, inquiring each other about how our lives had been. Annabeth came in too occasionally, but she never stayed for more than ten minutes, which was a bummer. However, it was Nico who brought me news about the camp.

"Those new campers really looked up to Luke. That move he pulled on you really had been the coup de grace." He had said.

"Everyone already looked up to him before I even reached camp, Nico." I replied. "It would be natural that his skills won them back."

He sighed. "Even so, _you_ were the one who saved Olympus, who saved the world. What is Luke compared to you?"

"People have the right to look up to anyone, Nico, let it be."

"Tsk, you're too nice to others. Don't blame me when they stop appreciating your efforts. By the way, your girlfriend's hanging around Luke more and more often now."

I tried not to wince at the implications. "As I said, they're just friends, or like really close siblings." Seeing my usual stubborn look, he dropped the subject and moved on to other things.

As I walked through camp with Nico in tow, I could finally enjoy the light breeze which skimmed my cheeks softly before passing by. However, together with the breeze came whispers. Whispers about me.

"That the guy who got wounded by Luke with a single slash? I thought he would be stronger than that." A younger camper whispered while sending fleeting glances at me.

His companion nodded in agreement. "Yeah, him. Supposedly he saved Olympus from the Titan War or something like that."

"That's hard to believe." The first guy said.

Fortunately or not, their whispers were carried by the wind which happened to blow in my direction.

I ignored it, although feeling slightly annoyed. Nico, however turned to glare at them and with his son of Hades personality, it was kind of scary.

He was about to tell them off when I grabbed his elbow and gave him a tug. "Let them be Nico, they could say whatever they want."

"But-"

"Just leave them alone." I said.

"Fine! But I still think you're too kind for your own good."

"Maybe I am, but for now starting a fight will solve nothing."

Giving one last glare to the two campers who were now scurrying away, he reluctantly followed me. As of now, we were heading to the Big House to report to Chiron about my discharge from the infirmary. Inside, I was greeted by a scene of Chiron and Mr. D playing cards. The cards seemed to be dealt by an invisible man with five cards face up on the table. I instantly recognized it as poker.

"Whatever you came for, Peter and Nate, hold it. I'm about to beat this centaur now!" The wine god cackled as he threw down the two cards on his hand. Why Mr. D couldn't get people's names right, I would never know.

"Full House! Beat that, pony-man!"

I took a look at Chiron's cards and the ones on the table. Nico's eyebrows rose as he gave a low whistle. The centaur wordlessly lay his cards down.

"Four of a kind. I guess this is my win again, Mr. D." Chiron said with a hint of amusement in his voice. The god's face turned red with rage.

"Blast! I was sure I had him this time." The camp director huffed. "I'm sick of this foolish mortal game. I'm retiring to my room before I turn those two brats into dolphins. You may continue, Peter and Nate."

"It's Percy and-" I called out, but a slam of the door told me that whatever I had wanted to say would prove futile. I sighed resignedly and looked back at my mentor.

"I'm okay now, Chiron."

"Yeah, you wouldn't be here if you weren't. So how's that wound recovering?" He asked.

"Mostly recovered. It just hurts a bit if I stress it too much." I replied.

Chiron frowned in thought. "I've been meaning to ask, how did Luke managed to wound you with your curse on?"

Nico and I exchanged glances. I wouldn't feel comfortable talking about our theory regarding Annabeth and my supposedly straining relationship. It was just a guess after all. So, I settled with a shrug.

"I'm not too sure, Chiron. But it doesn't really matter now, does it? The war's over, I wouldn't need that kind of protection anymore."

"True, true…" The centaur muttered before looking back at us. "I have a lot of paperwork to sort out, so run along now if you two don't mind. And Nico…"

The boy turned to Chiron as we were about to leave. "Don't let Percy do anything to strain his body, he still needs to recover."

Nico laughed. "I couldn't stop him even if I want to, but I'll try." I smiled to myself knowing he was right.

Just when we entered outside, a head came colliding towards my stomach, causing me to hunch over in pain and kneel on the ground wheezing.

"Watch where you're g-, oh hey, Nico and… Percy? Are you all right? When were you discharged?"

"Geez, Wise Girl, you really want me to stay in the infirmary longer than I have already?" I joked, glad to see my girlfriend beside me and helping me stand.

"Sorry about that, Percy. I just came here to see Chiron about something."

"And yet you were too busy to visit me. Even Nico here accompanies me longer than you have." I faked a pout.

Annabeth sighed. "I'm sorry, but I was quite busy these past few days."

"Too busy to spare some time even for your boyfriend?" Nico suddenly cut in, his tone foreboding.

The daughter of Athena frowned. "It's not like that. Whenever I was free, something else just pops up again."

"Something… or some_one_? Nico said icily. Annabeth's frown deepened.

"Nico." I shook my head discreetly hoping he'll stop. His eye shifted to me and then back at Annabeth.

"Hmph. Remember Annabeth, don't you even _dare_ to think about hurting Percy." He turned and headed for gods knows where.

"Sorry about that. Nico's just a little grumpy today." I tried making excuses for his behavior. Giving her a long hug and a kiss on the forehead, I turned to look for Nico.

"Don't worry, being a head councilor must be a busy job, I understand. See ya!"

Annabeth just stood there unmoving, her eyes had a faraway look as she absentmindedly waved back at me.

xxx

Night came. The sun had set fast and before I knew it, I was facing the campfire where sing-alongs were joined in by everyone. However I was staring at Annabeth intently, thinking over what Nico had told me after I caught up with him.

"_Nico, you didn't have to be so cold towards her, you know." I said._

"_Percy, I've told you plenty of times. Annabeth is falling for Luke all over again." He raised his voice a bit. "Don't you get it? Why she hardly visits you when you were injured? That's because she was too busy hanging out with that bloody son of Hermes!"_

"_Listen to me, Nico-"_

"_No, you listen to me! Looks like I'll have to say this. Every night during the campfire, they both snuck out to meet each other somewhere. That enough evidence for you?"_

"_Did you follow them?" I asked._

"_No, Bianca's right beside me so I couldn't leave. But it's obvious what they were to up to!"_

"_That may have just been a coincidence." I defended._

"_Were you listening to me? I said EVERY night!" Nico finally exhaled and calmed down._

"_Sorry about losing my temper on you, Perce. But for what's best, you should follow them and see for yourself. Listen, when Luke excuses himself, it'll be five more minutes before Annabeth does. Give her a minute before you leave too. Find them, and the truth as well."_

It wasn't long before Luke stood up and left quietly. Everyone seemed oblivious to this as they merrily sang with their friends. After five minutes -like Nico had said- Annabeth stood up too. Before she could leave, Malcolm grabbed her wrist and his mouth moved like he was asking a question. Annabeth said something back to him and he just tilted his head before nodding in acceptance. Annabeth then walked off hurriedly. Taking note on the direction she left, I looked around until I caught the gaze Nico was giving me. He tilted his head at where Annabeth had set off and I gave him a slight nod.

Slowly, I stood up and was inching away when Chiron called to me.

"Percy? Where are you going?"

Damn. I quickly made up an excuse. "Um, just the toilet, Chiron. It won't be a problem, right?"

The centaur shook his head. "No, just go quickly and return."

I ran off towards the direction of the toilet until I was sure no one could see me before I changed course and headed for the canoe lake. It was the direction both Luke and Annabeth went after all.

I pondered on why luck never seemed to work on my side. Luke and Annabeth left like this every night, according to Nico and Chiron didn't even notice. I try to sneak off just this once and was nearly busted.

My thoughts halted as I heard voices. I hid behind a bush and cautiously peeked outside to see what was happening. It was Annabeth, leaning on the shoulder of someone. No, not someone, but Luke. And Luke had an arm around her. Maybe I'm just overthinking things, perhaps they were acting out of sibling love?

A headache began to form, but I ignored it.

"-guilty about this. I don't know what to do anymore." I heard Annabeth said.

"Don't be. I'm sure everything will be okay. I promise." That was Luke.

"How will he react? What if-" She was silenced as Luke placed a finger on her lips.

"You just have to break the news gently. He's a nice person after all."

"But he… he did so much for me. I love him a lot, I really do. But when you came back, all those feelings for you returned as well. How could I…" Annabeth trailed off and stifled a sob.

"Like I said, he's a nice guy. He'd understand and respect your decision, so will the camp. Trust me."

The headache was getting stronger and more unbearable. When had I felt like this before?

"Really?" Annabeth whispered.

The only thing which prevented me from screaming in pain was the fact that I didn't want to make myself known to the… the couple in front of me. My heart was in pain, but my woodpecking headache outweighed it. I then realized the only other time I had felt this sort of pain, and it wasn't bathing in the River Styx.

_Desire of one will leave another broken._

"Really." Luke whispered back and finally pressed his lips against Annabeth, which she returned.

I couldn't bear to watch the scene. Not that I could as my headache escalated to new heights like it had been set ablaze after the kiss. Excruciating pain filled me, but I couldn't afford to pass out, not when _they_ might discover me.

After gritting my teeth and clutching my head and all that pleasant stuff for what seemed like hours, the pain was _finally_ beginning to subside. It seemed that the make out session was ending too, if the heavy breathing I heard was anything to go by. I gritted my teeth again, but for a different reason this time.

"We better head back now, the campfire's ending around now." Luke voice spoke out.

"You're right. I hope Percy takes it well." My ex-girlfriend said sadly.

They left hand-hand and walked around the bush I was hiding behind, thankfully not turning around to find that I had heard most of their conversation… and kissing.

I didn't know what to do, or think, or feel. So many emotions sprung like a hurricane inside me. Sadness, anger, betrayal. These were the few primary ones. It was getting late and I was feeling tired, physically and emotionally. I decided to sleep on it and sort out the rest of my feelings the following day.

After a few minutes of making sure that the coast was clear, I stood up and winced as both my legs cramped up a little. That's what you get for staying in the same position for too long. More time was spent as I slowly recovered before hobbling towards my cabin, keeping a watchful eye out for the cleaning harpies.

I passed by the campfire remains and found Nico still sitting there, looking at me as if waiting for a report. I walked past him silently, heading for my cabin.

"Well?" He called out as he turned to look at me. "What happened?"

I replied without turning back to look at him.

"I saw what I needed to see."

**And there you go, another chapter done. School's starting tomorrow and that means an erratic writing schedule. However, I'll do my best to satisfy you readers every time. Quality over quantity after all. Review or PM me if you feel that my writing wasn't as good as before, or just to simply share your thoughts.**

**Biology presentation still left untouched throughout two months of holiday. WOOT! I'm dead for sure…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here you go guys! My late updates have one main reason now. My mum sort of banned me from using my laptop until the end of the year. I have a major exam at November, equivalent to that of O-levels so yeah. Mums… I can now only update when my parents aren't at home, and then I'm hit by WB as well. So thank you all to those stick with this story and never gave up! And your reviews are simply amazing! **

**Gotta love it when parents go shopping…**

**BOBOBOBO, to answer your question, for FTxNaruto, it's called The Dragonslayer I think. Extremely long fights, but with a well written plot. For PJOxNaruto, the best ones have got to be the series written by XoverMasta. Two words, very awesome.**

**Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of this and I forgot to write this on the last chapter. PJO belongs to Rick Riordan and One Piece belongs to Eiichiro Oda.**

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Chapter 9

Sleep didn't come easy to me, but it was expected. Tell me someone who dreamt of rainbows and candies after seeing their beloved girl kissing a guy, especially one you aren't so fond of.

How should I proceed now? Do I pretend nothing had happened, since they didn't see me? Do I continue my relationship with Annabeth, knowing that she had fallen for another guy? Or should I blatantly tell her that we should break up? So many questions, yet no answers came to me.

The cabin was dark, save for a few streaks of moonlight which shone stealthily through the window and peeped through the curtains. I stared up at the ceiling, the bronze hippocampi which Tyson had skillfully crafted a long time ago hung there, swaying softly to the occasional winds.

I sighed. The intense headache just now wasn't just a coincidence, not when it was followed by _another_ line of prophecy given to me. Desire of one will leave another broken. Annabeth's desire for Luke left _me_ broken, heart and soul. There's no doubt regarding the prophecy now, I just wished the next lines will arrive faster, hopefully distracting me from this heartbreak.

I'll just have to see what tomorrow brings for myself. Deciding that sleep was all I could do at the moment, I did.

xxx

Morning came.

After stretching my limbs to loosen myself, I got up lazily and headed outside to wash up. A lot of campers were already up, most of them were at the pavilion enjoying a breakfast of French toast and wedges. Such a peaceful environment, I really hoped it would be like this every single day.

Nico found me a moment later, asking for details about yesterday night, although it wasn't something I liked to be reminded of. I told him about Annabeth and Luke's conversation, her feelings for both Luke and I, and finally the kiss. I skimmed lightly over the last part though.

"At least she showed some hesitation though, she didn't totally forget about you." Nico commented.

I was silent for a while, before replying, "She chose him in the end, behind my back nonetheless."

"So… what are you going to do about it now?" Nico asked.

"I was hoping you'd help me with this." I replied.

"Tell her the truth, break up with her."

"I… I know. But deep down, I still love her. And…"

"It's for the best Percy. You can't love a girl who loves someone else more. If you want, I'll stand beside you while you tell her."

I sighed. "You're right, but this is something that I'll have to do by myself. Thanks for the offer though." Nico looked at me for a few seconds before patting my shoulder. "Good luck." He said, before walking away. Now where was Annabeth?

Having known her for so long, her camp schedule was now like the back of my hand. Heading to the archery range, it wasn't surprising to see her there teaching a few younger campers, giving them tips on how to grip the bow and take the proper stances. She looked regally beautiful with her concentrated look as she took aim at a target and fired. Unsurprisingly, she hit the bull's eye. Artemis would be proud of her.

Clearing my thoughts for a moment, I walked up to her and tapped her shoulder.

"What is it, L-Percy?" She seemed surprised.

"We need to talk." I frowned at her slip up, knowing who she was about to address. It seemed to me that the name was more naturally and frequently used than mine.

Seeing my expression, she turned to her students and said, "All right. Remember what I said. Pick a bow and some arrows and try it for yourself. I'll be back soon."

We walked to the lake and I stopped there. For a few seconds, I did not say anything.

"What is it, Percy? I've got an archery class to teach." She questioned.

Taking a deep breath, I asked, "Annabeth, do you still love me?" I wasn't going to beat around the bush. The sooner I got this over with, the better.

She seemed shocked for a moment, before lowering her head. "Yes, I do." Looking up again, she asked, "Why are you asking me Seaweed Brain?"

"Do you still love me as much as before or…" I let the question trail off.

The silence consumed us until she finally spoke, "I don't know how to say this, but-"

"You loved Luke more than me, but you did not want to break my heart. You felt guilty and you weren't sure how I was going to accept this. Am I right?" I rattled off everything I learned from the previous night.

For the second time in five minutes, she was shocked into silence.

"H-How did you know?" Annabeth wasn't looking at me anymore.

"Right here on yesterday night, you and Luke had this conversation before you two k-kissed." Great, now she knows that I've been eavesdropping on her.

"You were hiding and listening to everything we said?" She looked up, her voice was back to normal, if not higher.

I wasn't about to sound nervous, when I wasn't in the wrong. "Yes, to confirm a few things which were on my mind."

"You-" She started but I stopped her.

"I would be careful of Luke if I were you-" This time, she cut me off.

"Luke's NOTHING like before! Kronos is gone, nothing will make him betray us again!" She shouted.

Why was she still so defensive of him? Was I never on par with Luke in her heart?

"You very well know the quote 'History repeats itself', Annabeth. I don't know why, but there's something about him that I can't trust."

"You're just saying that because he managed to defeat you in a swordfight, and you're jealous that the campers seem to like him more now too!" So she noticed the change in campers' hearts as well?

Tears were beginning to form in my eyes, as did Annabeth's, but I couldn't shed them in front of her. I still had my pride as a young man.

I turned around, back facing her and said, "My advice to you, Annabeth, is do not make the same mistake twice."

She didn't answer as I walked away, a few tears now escaping my eyelids as they rolled down my cheeks. Even I could see that we just had the break up talk, which didn't go quite as smoothly as I thought.

It hurt. I thought it was just a simple break up, but it wasn't anything like that. Inwardly, I knew I still love her, but she had chosen someone else, someone whom she loved more. I was crushed, because while I didn't have her heart anymore, the gray-eyed daughter of Athena will always have mine.

xxx

"Percy, are you alright?" I was sleeping when Nico's voice from outside my cabin reached my ears. It was actually the knocking which woke me up. I yawned and sat up. After my split with Annabeth, I was too depressed to do anything else, so naturally I took a nap.

"Hello? Percy?" More knocking, and louder this time.

"Yeah, yeah. Come in, Nico."

The door opened, revealing Nico, but this time with Bianca beside him. They walked inside.

"I heard everything from Nico. I'm sorry." Bianca said.

"Nah, I'll get over it." _Eventually_, I thought to myself.

"So, judging from how open she is with Luke now and her slightly red eyes, you finally confronted her and broke up with her?" NIco asked.

"Nico!" Bianca whacked his brother's head for his tactless remark.

"It's okay, Bianca. It was Nico who showed me Annabeth's true love. I have him to thank for or I would have become a hopeless wreck in the future. At least now I still could backtrack."

Scowling while rubbing his head, Nico said, "Yeah, but I'm still sorry you had to go through this."

"Worry nothing. You know I'm stronger than that." I gave him a grin. I was lucky, I still have my cousins on my side after all.

"Well, I've got to go now Percy. I have pegasi-riding classes in a while." Bianca patted my shoulder and headed for the door. "I'm glad to see you're still holding up well. See you!"

"Bye."

The door opened and closed, leaving me with the son of Hades. "So, what now?" Nico asked.

"You tell me." I replied. "Any more conspiracies to reveal, like Chiron is actually a robotic half horse sent from the future to protect the demigod race?"

"I can't believe you're still in the mood to crack jokes." Nico muttered. "But nothing seems to be happening now, at least I hope not."

Ah, that reminded me. My personal prophecy in motion.

xxx

Dinner was awesome, and so was the campfire. If you don't count the fact that Luke and Annabeth were sitting _very_ close to each other, and that my friends were looking between me and her curiously, wondering what had happened. At the end of the campfire, I was about to enter my cabin when someone called out my name in a low voice. Looking around, it turned out to be Luke.

"Yes?" I asked warily.

"We need to talk." I rose an eyebrow. "About Annabeth." Ah, he wants to clear things up I see.

"Sure, why not?" Dropping all guard, I walked with him and he brought us into the forest while keeping a close eye on the patrol harpies. We stopped under a big tree and Luke turned to me.

"I heard you broke up with her." He was straight to the point, a bit like me.

"Yeah, I heard everything yesterday night. And no, I'm not mad. If she loves you more, then I'll just have to let go. I just hope you could return that love equally." I said.

Nodding, he said, "Okay, that makes things simpler."

"If that is all, I'm going back to sleep." I turned around and walked a few steps.

"Wait." I froze in my tracks.

"There's one last thing we, no, I have to settle."

His tone had taken on an incomprehensible change, which sent alarms blaring in my entire system. He snapped his fingers and a scorpion jumped from thin air and landed on my hand.

Dejavu. Now when had this happened before? Oh right, after the quest which me, Grover and Annabeth had retrieved Zeus' lightning bolt. He had wanted to kill me then.

And he wanted to kill me now.

I mentally slapped myself. I gave advice to Annabeth which I myself ignored.

"What is it this time, Luke?" I said as calmly as I could with a pit scorpion on my hand which was slowly crawling higher.

"You've got guts this time, Percy." Luke grinned, his scar over his eyes made it seem more evil. "The thing is, there will be another war soon. And you," He pointed at me. "Will be powerless to stop it. My mistress made me see to that."

"It's an evil lady this time huh? Kronos is gone, I doubt there are any female titans as strong as him. Who's this mistress of yours?" I asked. Inwardly, I was berating myself for falling for the same trick twice.

"It won't harm to tell you, since you're a soon to be corpse in a few minutes. Is is none other than…" He brought his face right in front of mine. "Lady Gaia, Primordial Goddess of Earth."

Primordial goddess? Is she stronger than the titans?

Seeing my blank look, Luke sighed. "Still a clueless idiot. In history, Gaia and Ouranos were the beings who ruled the earth and sky, even before their children, the titans. Long story short, Lady Gaia hated Ouranos, so she instructed Kronos to chop of his…" He pointed at the area between my legs. "And slice him into pieces."

Laughing at my disgusted face, he continued. "Then she gave Kronos the reign to rule the world until the useless gods defeated him and his army, where Zeus took over his father."

"And she's back?" I asked, not liking where this was going.

"Dating Annabeth should've done your brain wonders, but apparently not. Don't you know history repeats itself? After the first Titan War, Gaia was angry and bred a new race of children with Tartarus called the Giants. Each giant was specifically bred to destroy an Olympian. This war was known as the Giant War. Again, they lost, thanks to Heracles who fought alongside the gods."

It would have been an intriguing history class had my life not been in danger. "So after the second Titan War, guess what comes next?" Luke finished. My mind was in a turmoil, if what he said were true, then our demigods… would they be strong enough to fight another war? And the gods too?

He led me behind a tree, where a hole was recently dug. "So, that speed slashing move was taught to you by Gaia?" That was the question on my mind after my defeat, on how he learned it.

"Yeah, you gotta love it. However this is your end. This time, I'll make sure NO ONE rescues you." Feeling a sharp sting on my arm, I knew my life was a few minutes from ending. "See this hole? I personally dug this as your grave. You should be thankful to die with what little dignity I'm offering you."

I was too light-headed to answer. Pit venom worked fast after all.

"And finally, something I've been wanting to do for a very long time." He unsheated his sword which I didn't even notice he was carrying.

"THIS!" Pain exploded in my stomach. I gagged and a few drops of blood leaked out of my mouth. I fell to my knees in front of Luke. Now I'm dizzy AND in pain, but I refused to scream, like how I didn't want Annabeth to see my tears.

"Y-You won't g-get away with t-this, Castellan." More blood trickled from my mouth.

"That stab was just an added security feature. And you're wrong, I _will_ get away with this. It is high time the gods pay, even what you did last time for the demigods wasn't enough. The gods ought to do more for their children themselves."

He squatted and rolled me into the hole. I was too powerless to even move.

"Farewell, Jackson. The Underworld you will be heading to will soon be ruled by Alcyoneus, the bane of Hades."

He laughed as he picked up a shovel and began filling up my grave. The dirt hit my face, but I did nothing, not that I could.

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your Wise Girl." He taunted.

The dirt was covering up my vision, and I was utterly helpless. Is this the end for me? But what of my prophecy? Those were my last thoughts as my life drained out of me, and I embraced the peaceful darkness to end my agony.

The thunder rumbled loudly that night. Perseus "Percy" Jackson, savior of Olympus, was now dead.

* * *

**Gasps! Percy's dead! What happens next? Stay tuned for the next episode of Origins of Power-Gods and Devils to find out!**

* * *

**Ahem. There you go. You might want to kill me for this sort of ending (or cliffhanger if you consider it one). Have I hooked you guys up? I certainly hope so, things should get interesting soon. Read and review! Don't be shy. Flames if you must but give me a reason. Until next time, bye! **


	10. Chapter 10

**Oh gods, that was an extremely long wait. I'm really sorry about that, especially when I left you guys at that cliffhanger. I had exams, 10 papers in 6 days IN A ROW. I studied my butt off for that or my mum would be going on my case. After that, our school had an annual cross-country run. Just 8km, but my thighs cramped after that. The run was just 2 days before I posted this. And um, I would like to express my gratitude for giving me encouraging reviews for this fic. It made me very happy every time I logged in and checked the new reviews. Thank you and hope you enjoy this chapter. It's twice as long as usual to make up for my long absence.**

**P.S: You can also blame Naruto Shippuden because I'm addicted to it currently. Yeah.**

**Disclaimer: Mr Riordan owns Percy Jackson while Eiichiro Oda owns One Piece. You should have known this a long time ago.**

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Chapter 10

The experience of death itself is a mystery to all beings with a beating heart. It was understandable, however, since they have never experienced it themselves, or they would be dead, non-living. There are many theories concerning what one goes through when dying. The most popular belief was that he or she sees their past life flashing through before their eyes.

None of that happened to me. One moment I was seeing darkness, senses loaded to the brim with pain, the next I was feeling a sense of tranquility, feeling nothing. Then I realized _it_ had happened. Feeling nothing on my stab wound could only mean one thing: I was dead.

This wasn't good at all, with the revelation of Luke's plans and my ability to do nothing to stop it.

Just as I was wondering if I was spending the rest of my eternal consciousness in the dark, I felt a slight tug at my… soul? I decided to follow the pull, since I had nothing to lose… except for my consciousness.

My sense of direction told me I was floating downwards steadily, and I had already guessed my destination. After five minutes of passing through layers and layers of dirt, I finally stopped. I found myself standing in a lobby full of translucent figures. They looked forlorn, and definitely lifeless. Most of them sat on chairs of some sort, but some lumbered around mindlessly. They walked, paused and stared at space for a few seconds before repeating the sequence like clockwork.

On the other side, there stood a counter with a tall pale-looking man dressed in a smart Italian suit. He was reading a magazine, but I couldn't make out its title.

All these scenes brought back long-forgotten memories to me. It had been a few years since I last set foot on DOA Recording Studios. You could also call it the entrance to the Underworld. Death On Arrival.

My gazed shifted back to Charon, the guy at the counter, who was still far too engrossed to notice me. Well, here goes nothing. Marching up to the counter, I stared at him expectantly.

He still didn't glance up.

I was getting frustrated at being ignored, considering the fact how I was here in the first place, so I did something what might had not been the wisest towards an immortal. I snatched his magazine just as he was turning a page and slammed it on the counter. Hard.

"CHARON!"

Said guy fell off his chair.

There were some curses muttered from the ground as he pulled himself up to glare at me murderously.

"YOU IMBECILLES! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU GUYS STAY HERE FOR ANOTHER THREE HUNDRED YEARS! WHO-" Then he noticed me. "So it's you Perseus Jackson." He growled. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't incinerate you right here and now."

"I-"

"And don't tell me you drowned in the bathtub again. You may have gotten me the first time, but the same trick wouldn't work twice on me, especially when I know you are a son of Poseidon."

"To answer your first question, I'm actually dead already, so there's nothing to incinerate." To prove my point, I gestured to my seemingly wispy body.

Charon's eyebrows rose. "Dead huh? Got eaten by monsters you finally couldn't defeat?"

I didn't answer him, and it was quiet for a few seconds. Finally, he waved his hands towards the direction of the benches and other souls.

"Well, whatever. Go wait there with the other ghosts. If you're lucky, I might be in the mood to bring you down to the Underworld in a hundred years or two."

"Actually, I need to ask a favor, could you ferry me down right now?" I asked desperately.

Charon rested his chin on his hands. "And why would I do that? And what you did just now didn't help at all."

"I-I'm sorry about that, but I really have something to do."

"Do? There's nothing you could do down there except await judgment and have your afterlife decided. He said curiously. "Unless" He seemed to have thought of something. "You are confident that the fact that you saved Olympus and all that will secure your place in Elysium. Is that it?"

I smiled a bit. "Maybe you're right, but there's more to my life right now. I can't die yet, there's still a lot of stuff I need to do." '_And fulfill the rest of the prophecy'_. I thought.

"No."

"Please, you have to!" My voice was getting desperate now, and I grabbed his suit and shook him. "I need to get out of here."

"L-Let me g-go, sea s-spawn!" His words stuttered from my shaking. I released his collar, and Charon smoothed out his suit with a huff.

"You saved Olympus, which is a good thing. You didn't fail to mention my pay raise to Hades the last time you were here, which is better. Because of that, I could afford this now." He flaunted his suit, which I took a brief glance at before returning it to his face.

"Now, I just want to know your oh-so important reason for wanting to go down before I question my sudden generosity from my heart."

I sighed. Maybe it was best to tell him how I died.

"Charon, what do you think can kill me besides gods and titans?"

"Getting big-headed, eh boy? But considering it _is_ you, I can't think of a monster besides Ladon who could actually kill you, unless you were fighting an army of them." He said. "Don't tell me you were actually killed by Ladon? Even Hercules can't hurt him."

"No, it wasn't Ladon, and there isn't a monster army after the Titan War." I paused, and my eyes darkened.

"I was murdered."

Charon looked taken aback at the statement. "Murdered? Like, killed by a fellow demigod? Who would kill you and get away with it?"

"Charon, did you hear about the Underworld riot a week ago?"

"Yeah, Hades was making a big stink about it. Can't blame the big guy though." He shrugged.

"Well, a few people actually made it out. They were my dead friends throughout the last few years and one of them was Lord Hades' daughter Bianca."

Charon opened his mouth to say something but I waved him to stop.

"That's not the important part. One of them was Luke Castellan, the host of Kronos.

I signaled him to let me continue before he could start asking questions, and I could see he was getting annoyed.

"Everyone was wary of him at first, since he had betrayed us. However, he proved to us that he really changed for the better. Or so it seemed."

I paused to let him ask his questions, but he seemed impatient. "Well? Go on, this is interesting."

He thinks my death is interesting. Haha.

"On the night of my murder, he wanted to talk to me about a few things. We did, and after that he began preaching about Lady Gaia and the Giant War and said that he couldn't let others find out and his pit scorpion poisoned me and then he buried me alive and-"

"And you're here."

"Yes."

Another long pause.

"That was… unexpected." He nodded at is words. "But how is heading down there going to help you?

"Easy. I break out and live again. Then, I expose his schemes."

Charon sighed and shook his head.

"Perseus, death is a cycle all humans go through. You're speaking of death and life so simply like it was merely a transition to the next phase. Your friends broke out, and that is that, but that doesn't mean you can do the same." He said seriously.

"Please! You promised! I have to warn the others about Luke before more demigods died like me!" I shouted and begged at the same time.

Charon gave me a look of annoyance, but finally relented. "Fine, but I'm just ferrying you along the River Styx. If anything goes wrong, you're on your own."

My grin became so big that my cheeks hurt.

"But first," He coughed. "I would like my magazine back."

I didn't realize I was still holding onto it throughout our conversation. I looked at the glossy front page and the words "PLAYBOY" was clearly printed on the top. There was a picture of a slim young woman clad only in an EXTREMELY tight two-piece swimsuit covering almost none of her assets. It didn't help that she was in a very provocative pose either.

My eyes burned and my cheeks flared red at the sight of the steamy picture in my hands. Charon snatched the magazine back since I was too entranced to do anything.

I shook my head to clear the last of the images in my head. "So, that's why you didn't notice me earlier. You were too busy ogling those bikini-clad girls to do anything." I smirked.

Charon looked flustered. "Oh give me a break, I'm stuck here indefinitely, unlike other gods and goddesses who go around knocking up mortals when they want to."

I wanted to tease him more, but he said, "And if you don't shut up about this, I might just change my mind."

I did shut up, but my grin was still visible as I followed him.

Stepping onto the bank of the River Styx, I turned around and waved Charon goodbye. "Thanks a lot, Charon!"

"Whatever, just don't get yourself killed. Again." He replied and sailed off, until I couldn't see his boat.

Okay, what now?

I saw a few spirits around me walking up a well-worn path, and I decided to follow them. After all, we're equals right?

Soon, we reached the entrance to the Underworld which was split into three lanes. Each of them had a metal detector in front of toll booths manned by black-robed ghouls. The tight security wasn't the biggest problem though, the massive three-headed black Rottweiler was, literally.

'Calm down,' I told myself. 'You're dead this time. Cerberus wouldn't detect you this time.' It was then that I realized that my memories and everything was still intact, which was impossible because I was supposed to be _dead._ Even demigods like me become mindless spirits once they reach the DOA Recording Studios. Well, except for children of Hades, but I wasn't one.

Throwing that question aside for the moment, I focused on acting like the ghouls in my surroundings, mindless and looking… dead.

There was a faster moving line labeled EZ DEATH. Annabeth had mentioned that it led straight to the Fields of Asphodel to avoid judgment. Quick and silent, just what I needed.

Cerberus glanced at me from time to time, its three heads growling silently, but I pretended I saw nothing. Nope, no gigantic hounds nearby to rip me apart when it wanted to.

When it came for me to pass through the metal detector, my heart was thumping wildly, but I kept my face expressionless.

'_Please don't catch me. Please don't catch me. Oh gods please don't catch me.'_

Thankfully, I made it through without any fuss. I made sure to shuffle far, far away from the entrance though before letting out a huge sigh of relief. I was currently in the Fields of Asphodel, sitting against a rock to soothe my jumpy nerves.

If you didn't know what Asphodel looks like, let's just say it's a million times the size of a football field which had run out of electricity. Dull, gloomy and most definitely boring. The spirits here act the same like in Charon's Studios, mindless shuffling and generally looking sad.

"That was close." I said aloud.

"Um, excuse me…"

I jumped so high that I probably would've gotten myself an Olympic medal. Facing the direction of the voice quickly, I was relieved to find that it was only a girl.

She looked a few years younger than me, about twelve or thirteen and had brown curly hair which reached her shoulders. The strange thing was that she lookedlike someone who wasn't lifeless. Someone like me, dead but having my own consciousness and intelligence.

"Sorry for scaring you, mister, but can you understand me?" She asked, her voice had a bit of hope and desperation in it. It seemed like she had been here for a long time, and felt lonely. These spirits weren't great company after all.

After a few moments of hesitation, I found my voice. "Yes, I do."

Her face brightened up instantly. "Oh thank the gods! Someone who understands me! It was getting so boring here and I… Oh dear, where are my manners? I'm Hazel. Hazel Levesque. Nice to meet you." She held out her right hand.

I stared at her outstretched arm. Should I give her my name? We didn't know each other at all and she just walked right up to me like that. What if this was a trap? 'But she's just a girl, around my age, and you've handled bigger problems than that.' I thought. Ah damn, screw it.

I grasped her hand and shook it. "Call me Percy. Percy Jackson."

**(A/N: If I ended here, would you have killed me? Thankfully I'm nicer this time… maybe)**

"Oh okay." I sat back down and she did the same.

"So, how did you end up here?" Hazel asked.

I flinched. That was not a topic I would like to discuss with someone I barely knew.

She noticed and blushed. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, well I guess this is a sensitive subject for us all."

"It's alright." I reassured her.

We stayed quiet for a while, not knowing what to say.

I broke the silence first. "How is it that you have your own consciousness unlike them?" I gestured at a passing spirit.

She looked guarded at my question, then asked carefully, "Ignore me if you think I'm crazy, but… are you a demigod?"

Oh, so she's one too. I could have some fun with this.

"Um, demigods? Like half god and half human? Is that what you mean?" I asked, trying to look curious while smirking inwardly.

Hazel's cheeks flushed. "Oh nothing! As I said, just ignore me if you think I'm crazy. Forget I asked." She turned away.

A few seconds later, I replied, "Yeah, I'm a son of Poseidon."

She whipped her head back towards me so fast that I thought she might get a whiplash. "You-You tricked me! That's not very nice." She exclaimed.

I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist."

She huffed.

"Since I told you my heritage, shouldn't you tell me yours?"

"I was going to, but I had to make sure you are a demigod in case you didn't get what I mean. My father is Pluto."

Pluto? Who was he again? Come on, think. Annabeth probably filled you with enough knowledge with all her intellectual talks she had with you when you two were together. Aha, got it.

"By Pluto, you mean Hades, right?" I asked.

"No, it's Pluto. Hades is Greek." She answered.

Aren't demigods all Greek? Pluto is a Roman name, I knew that much. However, Hazel insisted that it was Pluto, not Hades. Which means…

There are _Roman_ demigods? Chiron never mentioned anything like that. Neither did the gods. Would that mean they exist too? Separately from us Greeks? Would that mean they might have their own camp as well? Or maybe I was just overthinking…

I looked at Hazel who looked stared at me questionably. "You said you are a son of Poseidon? Don't you mean Neptune? Roman god of the seas?"

"Oh, yeah. That's what I meant. I just like the Greek name better, sounds cooler you know?" I lied.

I didn't know why I did that, but somehow I felt like I had just stumbled upon a huge secret, which meant that the less people who knew, the better. I didn't want Hazel to come to the revelation like I did. If what I was thinking was true-

"You're weird, but I guess that's okay. I haven't talk to anyone in ages!" Thankfully, she left the subject alone. And the fact that I'm talking to her intelligently even though I mentioned I wasn't a son of Hades or Pluto.

Then I suddenly remembered why I was here in the first place.

"Oh damn! I've gotta go. See you around!" I started to get up.

"W-Wait! Where are you going to? Can I come with you?" Hazel stood up fast and looked at me. She looked ready to cry.

Damn it! What I'm trying to do was extremely dangerous and I can't just drag a young girl along like that. But those tear-filled eyes shook my resolve. I couldn't bear to see her sad even though we had just met. It's like I had found a new sister for myself.

I looked at hazel again, and pinched my nose before releasing my breath.

"Fine, but just be careful."

"Yes!" She jumped and pumped her fist into the air.

We walked for what seemed like miles, passing through the judgment pavilion and moved deeper into Asphodel. Is there even an entrance for this place?

Apparently there was, but there was nobody around this parts, not a soul at all (pun intended). I was ready to rush out when I heard the sound of flapping wings.

The Furies!

I grabbed Hazel's hand and hid behind a huge dead oak tree. The sounds of three pairs of wings grew louder, and I was praying for me and Hazel's lives although it was useless in the Underworld where only Hades had influence upon. The daughter of Pluto was visibly shaking in fear against me. I peeked out from the tree and saw them flying away. This was my chance.

I dashed out from our hiding spot with Hazel and ran without stopping for a few minutes. I was tired after that sprint, and Hazel was on the verge of collapsing.

"Sorry." I said between pants.

"It's-It's alright." She gasped.

We found ourselves in an unfamiliar part of the Underworld (not that I visit here frequently) and this part was smaller than the rest. There seemed to be some sort of cave in front of us, and that was the only place we had left to go. The cave didn't feel friendly though.

I approached it carefully, not knowing what lurked behind it. Hazel held on to my left arm for reassurance, which made me felt protective of her. However, I had to go in first to check it out without Hazel, just in case.

I shook my arm free from her hold. "I'm going in first Hazel. I'll call you in if it's all right."

She looked at me fearfully, even she felt something bad emanating from the cave. "Be careful." She whispered.

I nodded, and reached for my sword, which by some miracle, was still in my trouser pocket. I uncapped it and the sword sprung out.

Hazel yelped and took a step backwards. "That's… unexpected."

"Yeah, I know. Gift from my Dad." I replied. The sword looked wispy as well, but it had a bronze tint to it. I touched its blade, and it felt solid and sharp. From the looks of it, it would be as deadly as usual.

I gave one last look to Hazel. "I'm going in."

She merely nodded.

Taking a breath, I stepped inside the cave, ready to face anything beyond the entrance. There was nothing, but the feeling of unease was still lingering around. Looking around for a few more seconds, I turned around and got ready to call out to Hazel.

It was then that the entrance started to narrow itself. Alarm bells rung in my head and I called out, "HAZEL, RUN!"

The last thing I saw of her was her terrified face as she shouted my name before the entrance closed down completely. "PEEEERRCCCYYYYY!"

I stared at where the entrance used to be, but it looked like it was never there at all. The cave wall looked natural and I knew trying to break it would be a waste of energy.

"Oh my, looks like I only got one of them."

I turned my head slowly, and found myself staring at an old woman. An old woman who looked like she was made out of dirt and was emerging from the ground. Her eyes were closed, but I could sense the raw power behind her voice. Please don't let it be-

"You guessed it, youngling. I am Lady Gaia."

Blood drained from my face as I heard her name. The mother of Titans and Giants. Primordial Goddess of Earth, right in front of me.

"Don't look so scared, little demigod." She said, eyes still closed. She looked like she was asleep, yet awake at the same time. Maybe partially awake.

"What do you want?" I asked. It was like the time I met the Overlord in my dream, but this time, the one I'm speaking to is evil.

"I wanted you and that young girl with you just now, but unfortunately you sprung my trap alone, and she managed to get away." I sighed in relief at that, at least one of us was safe.

"She would have been useful in raising my eldest son, but it doesn't matter right now. I have the great Perseus Jackson after all, the slayer of one of my sons." She said softly. "And you are much, much more beneficial to me than her."

_Space will shift and worlds will collide._

'_The third line of the prophecy'._ I thought. Something will happen soon, but what?

"I refuse to be your pawn." I said firmly. The headache was starting up, and its occurrence was getting annoying.

"Oh you will, because if you agree," She waved her hands and the end of the tunnel opened up, bright light filtering in. That wasn't all, however. Hundreds of monsters lined up in front of the entrance. "I'll give you a new chance at life. Like Luke Castellan."

"Luke? It was you who released him? And my friends?" I shouted angrily.

"Of course, young one. Who else would do that?" She replied with a smile.

"But Bianca and Silena and the others," I whispered. "Are they evil too?"

"This is not evil, young one. I merely wish to cleanse this world from your mortal creations and return the wild to its rightful place. And no, they are not 'evil' as you put it. Luke just suggested the idea to them during the riot. Less people will question and suspect him if he returned with a group of friends instead of him alone."

"So, the riot was your idea? And stop calling me youngling or young one!"

"Yes, youngling. Whisper a few encouragements of second life to the souls and they do their job pretty well. Don't you think? And that Hermes boy killed you and brought you here, so obedient."

I had one more question, this was my chance to get as much information as I could.

"Luke's swordplay had drastically improved and his moves were unimaginable. Is this your doing as well?"

"I Let some of my Titan children train him to the bone. Of course, few people realize that no mortals could beat them if they wielded a sword properly, and Luke is becoming so much better than last time." She answered with an unnerving smile.

"You ask too many questions, young one. What do you say, serve me, and you become as strong as Luke, get another chance at life and be spared from my wrath in the future."

"Or," Gaia's voice hardened. "Be killed here and sent straight to Tartarus by my monsters. Dying in the Underworld wouldn't be pleasant, I can guarantee you that."

_Be prepared, Perseus. Your destiny is opening its doors to you soon._

'The Overlord? Are you there?' I thought to myself.

No reply. What was that? No matter, I got a slim guide by the ruler of Existence. Gaia is nothing compared to him.

"I've made up my mind," I said calmly. The primordial smiled.

"I'm going to have to turn down your offer. My loyalties never waver after all." I raised my sword, preparing to face off the hundreds of monsters in front of me. A few hellhounds were pacing back and forth impatiently, waiting for action. Forked tongues slithered in and out of dracaenae's mouths, their nets and tridents gripped firmly in their hands.

Gaia's dirt face morphed into a frown, and I could sense her annoyance, even when her eyes remain closed.

"Then don't say that you weren't warned, youngling. You have just sealed your fate." She said and sunk beneath the cave floor.

That was the cue for the monsters to rush at me. It kinda sucked that my head was throbbing painfully at that time too. There was no time for respite though as the first hellhound lunged at me, which I slashed diagonally across its chest before whirling around and taking down another two empousai with the sword's trajectory. They burst into dust.

However, the dust didn't settle. It swirled and condensed until they began to reform back into the monsters I had just killed. My heart sank.

"It's futile, sea spawn. Lady Gaia has opened the Doors of death. With her having full control over it, we will reform the instant you kill us. The same goes to our comrades in the living world." One of the empousai answered. "Soon, we will overrun both camps then Olympus and Lady Gaia will rule the world once more!"

That's it. Shit just got worse with this information. On the bright side, my hunch about the two camps was right. Three cheers.

My eyes trained on the entrance far in front of me. If only I could just…

"DIE!" The monsters surged forward at the same time, and I reacted just as fast in slicing them apart. Taking advantage of their temporary incapacitation, I slowly inched forward towards my only hope for a second life.

During that mini-battle, the cave had begun to experience minor tremors, which I just dismissed as the thundering footsteps of several cyclops. I was making progress, almost there, when suddenly those cyclops stood in my path and blocked my way.

As I ran forward to attack their vulnerable legs, two of them flung their spears at me which forced me to leap sideways to avoid getting impaled. In that moment, the reformed monsters moved forward and formed a thicker barrier between me and my goal. What's worse, I was trapped against a wall. With no water around to help me, maybe this was my final end.

I noticed that the cave was actually shaking this time, like a small earthquake I could conjure if I wanted to. Gaia emerged from the ground in front of me again, slightly frowning at the tremor before turning back to me.

"This is your last chance to back out demigod. Join me." She said.

I pressed my back closer against the wall. "Never."

"Then d-" Gaia's words were cut off when the shaking increased ten-fold and the monsters stumbled. It must have been my eyes playing tricks on me because beside the part of the wall where I was leaning against, cracks formed on the surface and little bits off rock spat out. The hole grew larger and larger until there was a white swirling… thing at its place. It expanded until its diameter was almost as tall than me.

I was staring at a freaking maelstrom-like thing on the wall of a cave. I must be going crazy, but that thought was brushed aside when Gaia said, "What is this?"

"That means you don't know?" I asked curiously. I could feel the maelstrom tugging my body strongly towards it, but I resisted.

"Get away from there, Perseus, and join me." She said with finality.

I stared at the white swirling wall again, and then at the bright entrance which was far away from my reach. My chance at second life which I would never have again.

The Overlord's words rang in my head. _Be prepared, Perseus. Your destiny is opening its doors to you soon._

It was then that I knew what needed to be done. I would never join Gaia and her forces. I would never fight against my friends. I would never EVER betray Olympus.

I stepped closer to the portal. It must lead to somewhere, but its destination was unknown. All I knew was that this was "destiny" as the Overlord put it.

I took one last look at Gaia, and smiled.

"My final answer, is no." She looked angered.

"AND YOU WILL NEVER GET ME ALIVE!" With that, I released my hold and the tugging force pulled me straight into the heart of the maelstrom and white filled my eyes.

The last thing I heard was an enraged scream from the Earth Goddess as she lost a valuable pawn for her plans.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

* * *

**Eh heh heh. Another cliffhanger on the boot. Please put those pointy things away, they scare me. I'm not really sure what kind of reaction to expect, so please review. Flames are taken in stride and as a way of improvement for myself. As for the One Piece part, it is definitely coming up in the next chapter, so don't worry. I haven't watched One Piece for a few months already so I might have to rewatch a few episodes to refresh my memory. Again, please review!**


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